Digimon: The Crimson Plague
by Count Morningstar
Summary: The long awaited sequel to the Demon Crisis saga. In the midst of Rika and Ryo's disappearance, an unspeakable evil rises and goes after Jeri. And to make matters worse, a mysterious Tamer shows up and challenges Takato to battle. Rated M for shocking horror.
1. Dance With the Devil

**Introduction:** About a year ago when I joined this site, the first story I did was Digimon tale called _Digimon: Home by the Sea_. And it was followed by a four-part sequel called the _Demon Crisis_ saga. But at the end of those stories I left things unfinished. I had a couple of other stories planned, but at the time I had gotten a little tired of working on Digimon. So I decided to take a little break and work on some other projects.

I had planed to get back to the project only after a few months, but one thing I've learned about writing is that sometimes you don't control what you end up writing about. During the summer I ended up doing this Pokemon story that turned into this massive AU that I'm still working on. But I never forgot about this little Digimon series of mine, and even though I've got three other stories going on right now (one that's on hiatus more or less) I decided about a week ago to get back to it. So I reread _Home by the Sea_ and _Demon Crisis_, reviewed my old notes, and pretty much just picked up where I left off.

And now here we are with a story that takes place in the Tamers world, though there will be a few guest stars from Adventure. Oh you never will believe the horror that is soon to happen to Jeri and Takato. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 1: Dance With the Devil

_Jeri Katou walked through the remains of a ruined city under a blood-red sky. As she walked, she saw many rotting humans corpses scattered around her on the ground, some of which were not entirely whole. Jeri didn't know just what catastrophe had occurred in what looked to be the remains of Tokyo Japan, or at the very least she could not remember. She thought that perhaps there had been some sort of war, but then none of the corpses looked to be wearing military uniforms. It was as if some nameless horror had come and killed the city._

_What was perhaps even stranger was that Jeri was wearing a sparkling backless red dress with matching heels and elbow-high gloves. It was as if she was on her way to some sort of party. Jeri thought a few times about turning back from wherever she was headed and going to look for someone actually alive in that post-apocalyptic city, yet she felt some sort of need to get to her unknown destination._

_"Come." Beckoned a gentlemanly male voice. "Come to me, my dear."_

_Jeri could not tell just where the voice was coming from, but she felt as if she had no choice but to obey. After an uncertain amount of time, Jeri finally reached her destination, a small vine-covered mausoleum with large wooden doors. The doors swung inward as soon as Jeri reached them, allowing her to enter the structure. What Jeri found inside was by far the last thing she expected. It was a large ballroom with a wooden floor, far larger than anything that could fit inside a mausoleum. There was no ceiling above, but rather a star-filled night sky with a large bright full moon lighting the area with its pale rays._

_As Jeri walked a little further into the room, the large doors slammed shut behind her with a thud that made her jump a little. She soon realized that she was not alone in the ominous twilight ballroom. All around her were pairs of people she could not recognize, all of them either men in elegant tuxedos or women in magnificent gowns, and they all had masks covering the top halves of their faces. These masked people were all in pair, talking quietly amongst themselves and sipping glasses of what looked to be red wine. Though a darker part of Jeri thought that the liquid could also perhaps be blood._

_It was clear though that whoever these people were, they had noticed Jeri's arrival. Suddenly all conversation in the room stopped when a spotlight from an unknown source shined down on the middle of the room. And in the vacant spot where the light began to shine appeared an elegantly dressed man with short brown hair wearing a red cape and mask in addition to his black tuxedo. The masked man held out a white-gloved hand to Jeri, and as if a legs had a will of her own, Jeri walked up and took it. Then as if on cue, music began to play and Jeri found herself dancing a waltz with the masked gentlman._

_Jeri found herself enjoying the waltz with her mysterious dance partner. She thought that perhaps it was her boyfriend under that red mask. But everything suddenly changed when she noticed that that the moon turned from a brilliant white to blood red. Then in an instant the other dancers transformed into blasphemous indescribable horrors made out of some sort of red protoplasmic matter. Soon after, Jeri noticed that her dance partner had transformed as well. The thing still had a humanoid shape, but there was no clothing or even skin, only blood-red muscle. On the sides of its head were long curved horns, and beneath the red mask it was still wearing it had bright yellow inhuman eyes._

_"Join with me." The creature said to Jeri with a fanged mouth before leaning in to bite Jeri on the neck._

Jeri shot up in bed with a scream, cold sweat covering her brow. She looked over at the clock on her nightstand and found that it was three forty-seven AM. Jeri sighed heavily and climbed out of bed. She knew she needed a full night's sleep, as she had an early class that morning. But sleep was going to be hard to come by after having such a nightmare. At the very least Jeri felt that she needed a glass of water.

Just before heading out to the kitchen of her apartment though, Jeri glanced and noticed her reflection in the full-length mirror of her room. She looked like crap. But then not many people looked their best at almost full in the morning. Her long brown hair was a mess, but then anyone's hair is a mess first thing in the morning. What Jeri noticed was how pale she looked, as well as the bags under her eyes. Not to mention that the oversized grey t-shirt she was wearing for sleep ware was almost covered in sweat like she had been out jogging. But then Jeri was not at all surprised by her appearance. She had been having a rough few weeks, both due to a lack of sleep and some problems she had been having with her boyfriend, Takato.

Jeri soon pulled herself away from the mirror and resumed her trip to the kitchen. Upon getting out there, she pulled an empty glass out of the cupboard and poured herself some water from the faucet. Soon after, Jeri sat down at the counter in the middle of the space and began to take a few sips. As she drank, Jeri went over the events of her nightmare. The monstrosities that the dancers in her dream had changed into reminded her greatly of the D-Reaper, the digital entity that had captured her ten years before. Then there was her dance partner. The thing had reminded her of the D-Reaper as well, but its voice was something different. Jeri felt as if she had heard the same voice somewhere before, but could not place it.

Eventually though, Jeri decided not to dwell on the events of her nightmare and tried to put it out of her mind. It was probably going to be the only way she could get back to sleep that night, if sleep would come that is. What troubled Jeri though was that it was the latest nightmare in a long series that had been going on for the past three and a half weeks. And all of the nightmares all had that same gentlemanly voice. Jeri could not figure out just what these nightmares meant. Though the thought did occur to her that perhaps something had stirred up memories of being held captive by the D-Reaper, since many of the monstrosities that appeared in the nightmares seemed to resemble the digital entity in some fasion.

Whatever the nightmares were though, it was clear that they were getting worse. The one that Jeri had just had that night was so far the most vivid. Jeri glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall and saw that it was four AM. After gulping down the last of the water in her glass, Jeri got up and began to walk back to her room to try and get more sleep.

* * *

The following afternoon, Takato Matsuki was out walking carrying a large brown paper bag in his left arm. He was not alone in his trek through the city. Walking at his side was a large primarily red dragon-like creature. It had yellow reptilian eyes and batwing-shaped ears or horns on the sides of its heads. Its chest and stomach was white and there were black markings on parts of its body. This was Takato's Digimon partner, Guilmon. And he was not the only Digimon traveling with the brown-haired young man.

Riding on Takato's shoulder was a small primarily white creature with large green eyes, short arms, large feet with purple toes, and ears with purple triangular ridges. On its forehead was an inverted red triangle surrounded by three smaller black triangles. This Digimon was Calumon, an old friend of Takato and Guilmon's. The people that Takato and his two Digimon companions had passed on the sidewalk paid little attention to them. Ten years before, it would've been a different story. But since the incident with the D-Reaper the public had slowly become more aware of the existence of Digimon. And during that decade more children had become Tamers to a few wild Digimon that would occasionally slip through the boundary between worlds. Of course local governments would keep tabs on these Digimon out of fear they might go rogue, but seeing a human with a Digimon in broad daylight was not an uncommon occurrence.

As the three reached the crosswalk and waited for the traffic light to turn green, Takato noticed a familiar young man walking up to him. He had dark hair and was wearing a black shirt, tweed jacket, tan slacks, and black leather shoes. Riding on the young man's shoulder was another Digimon, one that looked like a greenish-white rabbit-like creature with very long floppy ears and small a horn on the front of its head. Takato knew this young gentleman as his friend and fellow Tamer, Henry Wong, and Digimon as Henry's partner, Terriermon.

"Hey Henry." Takato greeted as Henry walked up.

"Hi." Henry greeted back as he stopped and stood to wait for the light to turn with Takato. "Didn't expect to run into you around here today."

"Yeah, I have to make a delivery for my parents." Takato explained, indicating the bag he was carrying.

"There wouldn't happen to be some other reason why you're out this way, would there?" Terriermon said with a rather sly expression.

"Terriermon…" Henry said with a heavy sigh, as he knew just what his little Digimon friend was implying.

"What? This is near where Jeri lives." Terriermon innocently pointed out.

"Actually, Terriermon's right. The real reason why I'm out this way is to see Jeri." Takato admitted. "The delivery is just on the way."

"…So does that mean you and Jeri are talking again?" Henry asked with a hint of hesitation.

"Nope." Takato replied with a sad smile. "I still don't get why Jeri's mad at me. I mean I've thought about it over and over again and I can't figure out what it is I did."

"Did you try asking her?" Henry suggested.

"Oh yeah, that was the first thing I did." Takato said with a rather dark chuckle. "I asked her, 'why are you mad at me?' and she says, 'you know why', and then she slammed the door in my face. Ever since then she's been giving me the cold shoulder."

"So you're going to try and ask her about it again?" Henry assumed.

"I asked Takato to come and see her." Calumon revealed, finally joining in on the conversation. "Jeri's had me pretty worried for the last few weeks."

"Why? What's been going on?" Terriermon asked.

"Well, it seems like Jeri's been having these really scary dreams." Calumon explained. "But she won't tell me about any of them. And they seem to be getting worse. I was hoping that maybe Takato could get her to open up."

"Light's green." Guilmon spoke, causing the others to look and see that the traffic light had indeed changed. The group quickly went over to the other side of the street.

"Well, Terriermon and I have to be off now." Henry told the others. "Hope it works out for you and Jeri."

"Thanks man. See ya later." Takato replied, but just as Henry was walking off, a question suddenly came to Takato's mind. "Oh hey, did Yamaki find out anything about what happened to Rika and Ryo?"

"Hey, if you haven't heard anything, neither have I." Henry replied. "Yamaki told us that he'd let us all know if he found out anything."

"Yeah, you're right." Takato admitted. "I'm just worried, that's all. I mean they just vanished off the face of the earth without any word."

"I'm sure those two are fine." Henry said reassuringly. "Heck, for all we know they found a way into the Digital World to do some sort of special training or something. Well, I really better be going or else I'll be late. Later."

"Yeah, later." Takato replied with a wave as Henry walked off.

After Henry had left, Takato and his two companions continued onward. As they headed down another crowded sidewalk, Takato thought about how rough of a month it had been. For one thing, Takato's friends and fellow Digimon Tamers, Rika Nonaka and Ryo Akiyama, had mysteriously disappeared very early in the month. Takato and the others attempted their own little search, but found no trace of them. Having exhausted every avenue, Takato and the remaining Tamers saw no choice but to leave finding Rika and Ryo up to the head of an organization known as Hypnos, Mitsuo Yamaki.

Then there were the problems Takato was having with Jeri, who had been his almost since he had rescued her from the D-Reaper a little over ten years before. Though they hadn't officially become a couple until high school. But since that incident there had always seemed to be a spark between the two. Just before Rika and Ryo vanished though, something had occurred that caused Jeri to shut Takato out. Yes, Takato was sure that it just did not seem to be his month.

* * *

Several minutes later, Takato had finished making a delivery of bread to one of his parents' regular customers, a sixty-two year old woman he knew as Mrs. Ushio. Mrs. Ushio was a nice old lady, though it seemed to Takato that her mind wasn't what it used to be. She was under the impression that Guilmon was some sort of large dog, though Takato had to admit that the old woman wasn't far off. As intelligent as Guilmon was, it often seemed like he had the mentality of a K-9. The dragon Digimon would often do things like chase squirrels in the park or bury various items for reasons that even Guilmon himself did not understand. One time Guilmon had even buried a sweater that was a favorite of Takato's mother, and unfortunately it was not returned in the best condition.

After completing the delivery, Takato and his two companions had reached Jeri's apartment. Takato knocked on the door and after a moment Jeri answered. Jeri was wearing a black sweater and long grey skirt. Right away Takato noticed her pale complexion and became concerned. Jeri meanwhile looked at Takato with an expression that made it clear that she was not pleased to see him.

"Uh, hi Jeri." Takato greeted with a nervous smile. "Calumon said you'd be home at the time of the day. How've been?"

"What are you doing here?" Jeri asked as she crossed her arms.

"Well, Calumon told me he's been worried about you and thought I could do something to help." Takato explained as he rubbed the back of his head, inadvertently putting Calumon on the spot.

"Oh god. Calumon, what have you been telling Takato?" Jeri asked in a harsh tone, causing Calumon to flinch.

"I-I only told him that you've been having bad dreams." Calumon admitted. "And I thought that maybe Takato could do something to help."

"Well you had no right!" Jeri scolded. "And as for my dreams, it's nothing to worry about!"

"But Jeri…" Calumon tried to speak.

"Will all of you please leave? I've had a long day!" Jeri said as she grabbed the door to slam it in their faces.

"Jeri wait!" Takato said as he quickly stopped the door from closing with his hand. "Will you at least tell me what I did to make you so mad at me?"

"You know what you did!" Jeri told him.

"No I don't!" Takato insisted. "I honestly have no idea what I did."

"I saw what you and Rika were doing together last month at Suzie's birthday party!" Jeri explained. "You could've at least had the guts to tell me it was over instead of going out behind my back!"

"Wait, what?" a very confused Takato replied.

"Get lost!" Jeri shouted before slamming the door.

For a moment Takato thought about knocking on the door again to attempt to get Jeri to explain her last statement, but quickly realized that it would be a lost cause. Defeated, Takato and his two Digimon companions left. A few minutes later they were outside of the building.

"What was that about?" Takato wondered as he looked back up at the building. "Does Jeri actually think that I cheated on her with Rika?"

"This is the first I've heard of it." Calumon replied. "I knew she was mad at you Takato, but she never told me why."

"I don't get it, why would Jeri even think something like that?" Takato asked.

"Takato, wasn't Suzie's party when you and Rika had that little accident?" Guilmon brought up.

Suddenly it all hit Takato like a meteor. Over a month ago he and his fellow Tamers attended the seventeenth birthday party of Henry's younger sister, Suzie. Some time during the party, Takato went outside for some fresh air and ran into Rika. Takato couldn't recall just exactly what had happened, but somewhere along the line he had tripped and the next thing he knew the two of them were on the ground in what an innocent passer-by would see as a very compromising position. At the time he thought that nobody was there when that little accident occurred, save for Guilmon who was in the bushes at the time, and perhaps Rika's Digimon, Renamon. But from what he had just learned Takato deduced that Jeri must've come outside at just the wrong moment and jumped to a very wrong conclusion. It was after that party, Takato realized, when Jeri had become quite frigid towards him.

"Aw damn it!" Takato yelled as he punched the wall of the building. "This whole time Jeri thought I was making out with Rika at that party? I have to go talk to her and straighten this mess out!"

Before Takato could rush back into the building though, Guilmon suddenly made a low growl. He looked at his snarling partner and saw that Guilmon's pupils had shrunk. Takato had seen Guilmon act this way before. It was perhaps the dragon Digimon's more dog-like qualities.

"What is it boy?" Takato asked, though he knew what the answer was going to be.

"There's a Digimon nearby." Guilmon snarled.

"Uh-oh." Calumon spoke, and suddenly the red triangle on his forehead lit up briefly.

"Calumon… did this Digimon that's appeared just evolve?" Takato asked.

"I think so." Calumon confirmed with a worried expression.

A second later the three heard an explosion further down the street. Immediately they all ran to find out what it was. Upon turning a corner they saw a humanoid figure with a blue pointed hat and flowing blue cape. He had shoulder-length straight brown hair and was dressed primarily in red. His face, chest, wrists, and feet were clad in silver armor. Floating at the warrior's side was a glowing blue crystal ball, and in his hands he wielded a sword lit with red flames. Takato got out his D-Arc to find out just what sort of Digimon he was dealing with.

"Mistymon, an Ultimate level Warrior Digimon." Takato read from the device's holographic screen. Suddenly Misty swung his sword into a car parked on the side of the road. "Let's take care of this guy Guilmon!"

Guilmon nodded and Calumon quickly flew off Takato's shoulder using its enlarged ears as wings. Suddenly Takato's D-Arc let out the mechanized cry of one word.

"BIOMERGE"

With that word, Takato turned into a ball of red light and flew into Guilmon.

"Guilmon biomerge digivolve to… Gallantmon!" Guilmon cried out as his body flashed with a brilliant red light.

When the light faded, Guilmon had changed into a humanoid knight clad in white armor. He had a flowing red cape and a narrow stream of silver hair flowing from the top of his helmet. Above his eyes was a red visor styled in the shape of Guilmon's face. On his shoulders and knees were red guards with gold trim. With his right arm the knight held a long silver lance, and with his left arm he carried a large circular silver shield with gold trim and a red version of the symbol on Calumon's forehead on the front, surrounded by the symbol of a golden sun.

"Lightning Joust!" Gallantmon called out as he launched a stream of blue energy from his lance.

The blast hit Mistymon in the chest and knocked the magical warrior off his feet. Mistymon quickly recovered though and stood ready to face his opponent.

"You picked a really bad day to cause trouble." Gallantmon said in his own voice and Takato's as he walked towards him.

"Digi-Modify!" a male voice suddenly called out, surprising Gallantmon. "Hyper Speed, activate!"

Suddenly Mistymon leapt into the air and seemed to vanish. An instant later the magical warrior reappeared and swung his sword at Gallantmon. The knight managed to block the strike with his large shield. Gallantmon looked around and saw standing nearby on the sidewalk a young man who looked to be in his early twenties with wild brown hair. He was wearing thick black sunglasses and a long tattered brown jacket with a white shirt, black fingerless gloves, black jeans, and white tennis shoes. Within Gallantmon, Takato noticed the young man was holding in his right hand a navy-blue D-Arc with white trim.

"Not a bad block." The young man commented as he took what looked like a trading card from a pack on his belt. "But let's see how you handle this." He then swiped the card through the side of his Digivice. "Digi-Modify! Power, activate!"

Suddenly Mistymon vanished again, and a second later he reappeared right behind Gallantmon and slashed him across the back with his sword. The force of the attack almost knocked Gallantmon to the ground.

"Digi-Modify!" the mysterious young man called out as he swiped another card through the side of his D-Arc. "Slayerdramon card, activate!"

The blade of Mistymon's sword changed and became segmented. He slashed at Gallantmon with the sword, the blade coming at him like a flaming whip. But the knight managed to block the attack with his shield.

"Enough!" Gallantmon cried out. "Shield of the Just!"

With that, the shield fired off a massive blast of energy that sent Mistymon flying back. As the warrior fell to the ground, he glowed with a purplish light and transformed. He had become slightly shorter and was wearing a primarily yellow garment with several zippers in if. He also had on brown leather boots and gloves, and on the front of each boot was a golden crescent moon. The long collar of his blue cape covered the lower half of the Digimon's blue face. Atop his head he wore a large conical blue hat with a white skull on the front, and in his right hand he carried a golden staff that ended in the large shape of a sun at the top.

"A Wizardmon?" Gallentmon observed.

Suddenly there came the sound of clapping, and walking up to Wizardmon's side was the young man who seemed to be his partner. Gallantmon split back into Takato and Guilmon and approached.

"Beautiful, outstanding job." The mystery man said to Takato and Guilmon. "Such blazing passion, such will. You two might be the guys we've been looking for."

"Who the hell are you?" Takato demanded to know, accompanied by a growl from Guilmon.

"The name's Parker Nash." The young man said with a bow. "You've already met my partner, Wizardmon. You're Takato Matsuki and Guilmon, right?"

"How do you know who we are?" Takato asked.

"Are you kidding me? You guys are famous!" Parker replied with a small laugh. "You guys took down the D-Reaper and saved two worlds. And after seeing you fight I'm even more sure that you two are the guys we're looking for, don't you think Wizardmon?"

"They do seem like worthy candidates." Wizardmon agreed. "But we need to learn more about them to be sure."

"Right you are buddy." Parker concurred. "But that'll have to wait for another time. We'll be seeing ya real soon Takato."

"Wait, just who…" Takato began to ask, but before he could finish Wizardmon raised his staff and a blinding flash of golden light hit both him and Guilmon.

The light soon faded and both Parker and Wizardmon had vanished. As Takato and Guilmon stared at the spot where the mysterious Tamer and Digimon once were, Calumon flew back onto Takato's shoulder.

"I really don't think this is our month Guilmon." Takato said to his faithful partner.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I actually had a few problems writing this first chapter. Not because of the length, I've actually gotten used to doing longer chapters. I just had a few problems with some of the scenes, the dream sequence in particular. I was stuck until I remembered this one very odd short film that featured a scene where the main character danced with this guy in a devil costume. When that scene came on, the guy sitting next tom me said, "Ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?" That's where the inspiration came from. Anyway, I wanted to open with a nightmare scene partly because I had done the same with Home by the Sea. Unoriginal perhaps, but I felt it provided some symmetry.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Infection

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 2: Infection

Early in their adventures as Digimon Tamers, Takato and his friends faced an enemy that at first they knew nothing about. This enemy hid in the shadows and answered to the government of Japan. The name of this enemy was Hypnos, an organization that was originally started to monitor the communications of half the world. But when the life forms known as Digimon began to emerge from their world beyond the veil of the Internet, the objective of Hypnos became the containment and eradication and either contain or destroy them. Preferably destroy them. All of their attempts to destroy Digimon failed however, and when the Tamers did battle with the twelve Digimon warriors known as the Devas, the organization's efforts to even keep the existence of Digimon a secret failed miserably.

Then, when the Tamers entered the Digital World to save Calumon, the objective of Hypnos changed yet again. This time, the goal was to do everything possible to bring the Tamers home safely. But when the Tamers had returned, a new enemy emerged in the form of the D-Reaper, a computer program developed during the 1970s to eliminate digital life forms once their number had exceeded a certain amount. Since that time the D-Reaper had evolved into a dangerous life form that wished to purge both the human and digital worlds of all life. So the objective of Hypnos changed again to aid the Tamers in their battle against the D-Reaper, and together they defeated that enemy.

Ten years had gone by since that epic battle, and during that time the objective of Hypnos became to simply keep an eye out for any wild Digimon that may cause trouble, and to monitor the activities of the Tamers. So that evening, not long after Takato and Guilmon had had their little confrontation with Parker Nash and Wizardmon, Takato was not at all surprised when an unmarked black van suddenly dove up in his path and politely asked him, Guilmon, and Calumon to get in. Seeing that declining the invitation would most likely result in an armed confrontation, Takato and his two companions complied. One drive through the city later, they found themselves at Hypnos headquarters. There, they were brought to an empty boardroom, which Takato was all too familiar with, and were forced to wait for about an hour. It always irritated Takato when they deliberately made him wait.

At long last though, a man with blond hair and pale skin (which Takato and his friends always thought was the result of this man spending way too much time inside the building) wearing a black suit and sunglasses walked into the room. This man was the head of Hypnos, Mitsuo Yamaki.

"Care to explain what happened this afternoon?" Yamaki asked after sitting all the way at the other end of the long boardroom table to face Takato.

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself." Takato replied. "All I know is that some Tamer I never met before sent out his Digimon to challenge me to a battle. I thought those days were long over."

"Your little battle was caught on film." Yamaki explained. The man in black then clicked a small black remote he held in his hand and directed Takato's attention to a large flat screen monitor on the wall behind him. The screen showed a replay of Gallantmon's battle with Mistymon, accompanied by a small picture of Parker. "The Tamer you encountered is Parker Nash, age twenty-three." Yamaki began. "He was born and raised in Boston and has a juvenile record. Apparently he was something of a street fighter. According to what we've learned from our counterparts in the U.S., Nash became a Tamer about six years after the D-Reaper incident. We're still trying to figure out how he got to Japan."

"Maybe he came here through the Digital World." Takato suggested.

"We're looking into that theory as we speak." Yamaki revealed. "In the meantime, are you certain you don't know why Nash wanted to fight you."

"I honestly have no clue." Takato repeated with a hint of frustration in his voice. "But he did know that Guilmon and I helped take down the D-Reaper."

"Well that's a little troubling." Yamaki said as he began to stroke his chin in thought. "Your involvement with the D-Reaper incident is supposed to be classified. But this could mean that Nash wants to defeat you in order to make a name for himself."

"Oh that's just great!" Takato said very sarcastically. "As if I don't have enough problems already."

"If you encounter Nash again, let me know as soon as possible." Yamaki said as he rose from his chair.

"Yeah, yeah." Takato said as he got up. Then just as he was about to walk out of the room with Guilmon and Calumon, a thought occurred to him. "Hey Yamaki, you don't think that maybe Nash has something to do with Rika and Ryo's disappearance, do you?"

"That thought had occurred to us." Yamaki admitted. "I have people looking into it as we speak. I'll let you and your friends know as soon as we find anything."

"Is there anything you can tell me now?" Takato asked. At this Yamaki sighed heavily.

"Look, so far we only have two leads," Yamaki revealed, "Nash, and some odd disturbances we've been detecting in the Digital World. But so far we've come up with nothing. At this point any hope of finding them looks slim at best."

"I see…" Takato said as sadness came to his eyes. "Well, just thought I'd ask as long as I was here." And with that, Takato walked out of the room with Guilmon and Calumon.

* * *

Jeri flopped onto the couch in her apartment with a heavy sigh. It had been a long day, and Takato's surprise visit didn't help matters. She still couldn't believe that Takato was denying that something was clearly going on between him and Rika. At times Jeri still replayed that whole incident over and over again in her mind, and that evening she had been doing it again. She still remembered stepping away from the party to look for Takato, only to find him out on the ground on top of Rika, their faces only inches away from each other. As she reviewed the incident again for what was perhaps the thousandth time, Jeri wondered why she didn't yell at them when she saw them, and then thought that perhaps she was just too hurt to do so. What Jeri did instead was simply run away in tears.

At first Jeri had thought that perhaps there was some logical explanation for what she saw then, but then something in her mind made her recall all the times she saw Takato and Rika together and how at the time they had acted a little too friendly with one another. Looking back at all those times, Jeri could see the writing that was on the wall. She was out and Rika was in. It was that simple. And the thing was that Jeri wasn't at all surprised. When she compared herself to Rika Jeri could see that Rika was far stronger. Not just as a Tamer, but as a human being. At this thought a tear came to Jeri's eye. She glanced and in the corner of her eye saw a picture of herself and Takato that was on the table.

_'It's no wonder why he wouldn't want to waste his time with someone like me.'_ Jeri thought sadly as she looked at the photo.

_"So the truth finally comes out."_ Spoke a gentlemanly voice. Jeri frantically looked around the room and saw no one. But as she did the voice laughed, and the laughter sounded like it was coming from inside her own head. _"Look all you want, you won't find me anywhere in this room. Think of this as a phone conversation."_

"Who are you?" Jeri asked, though she knew some of the answer already. It was the voice that would speak to her in her nightmares.

_"I am someone who has seen within your heart."_ The voice replied. _"Who knows you far better than you know yourself."_

"What do you want with me?" Jeri demanded to know as she stood up from the couch.

_"Only to help you my dear."_ The voice replied. _"I can help you become far stronger than you are, but the only way I can do that is if you'll let me join with you."_

"Join with me?" Jeri asked with a shudder. "What do you mean by that?"

_"What it sounds like."_ The voice replied. _"We become one, and in doing so your weakness will be removed. The fact is you need me. You cannot survive on your own."_

"No… no I don't need you!" Jeri denied. "You don't know me as well as you think you do!"

_"Oh don't I?"_ the voice said with a small laugh. _"Why don't you check that box over there? It should be enlightening."_

At that moment, a red light began to shine from the cracks of a small wooden box that was on the bookshelf by the apartment door. Jeri knew this box to contain her old D-Arc, which she had kept as a memento. She went over to the box and hesitantly opened the lid. The light was coming from the screen of the D-Arc. Jeri picked up the device, and when she did it transformed in a flash of red light. It changed from white to black and the buttons, strap, and frame around the screen changed to the color of blood.

Suddenly a column of red light shot up from the screen, and it soon projected the image of a young woman with long brown hair wearing a black trench coat and grey shirt. Jeri instantly recognized the young woman as Rika.

_"What a joke you are."_ The image of Rika said with a cold smile. _"How the hell a Plain Jane like you ever became a Tamer in the first place is beyond me. I don't even know why I bothered training you before. You should just do the world a favor and die, because all you are right now is dead weight."_

The image being projected from the D-Arc then changed to one of Takato.

_"I don't even know what I ever saw in you."_ The image of Takato said with a cruel smirk. _"All you've ever done for me an the others is cause trouble and get in our way. It's because of you that the D-Reaper managed to get to our world in the first place. Just looking at you makes me sick. Rika is way more of a woman than you are."_

Jeri was shaken greatly by the false Takato's words. The more rational part of her mind kept telling her that it wasn't really Takato that she just saw, but its cries were but a dull whisper. The image changed yet again, this time becoming a humanoid lion with a gold mane.

"L-Leomon?" a shocked Jeri spoke, recognizing the form of her fallen Digimon partner.

_"How pathetic you are."_ The image of Leomon spoke with a look of contempt in his eyes. _"To think that someone like you ever became my partner. Perhaps if I had gotten a stronger partner I would still be alive today. But look at what happened! I'm sorry I ever even met you."_

"NO!" Jeri cried out as she threw the device against the wall, causing the image to fade. She fell to her knees on the verge of tears and the mysterious voice began to laugh.

_"Deny it all you like, you know what you have seen is the truth."_ The voice told her. _"Out of all the Tamers in your group, you are the only one who's Digimon died, died due to your weakness. It is no surprise that your lover would spurn you for someone else. You are alone not because of destiny, but because of your own weakness. The only way you will not be alone is if you join with me."_

Jeri tried to tell herself that the voice was wrong. That what it showed her was a lie. Yet there was a very strong part of her that agreed with everything she had seen. For a long time she had felt like she wasn't as strong as Rika and the others, and all that the voice had just shown her seemed to confirm it.

"What do I do?" Jeri asked almost in a whisper.

_"Pick up the D-Arc."_ The voice told her. Almost mechanically, Jeri got back to her feet and picked up the device.

"Now what?" Jeri asked. On cue, the screen of her open laptop on the coffee table lit up with a white light.

_"Aim the device at the screen and I shall come."_ The voice instructed. _"Let me in and I shall change your life."_

Jeri walked over to the computer and aimed the D-Arc's screen at the computer. A red beam of light shot from the screen and hit the monitor of the laptop. The laptop screen turned red, and suddenly a creature emerged from it. It resembled a large white worm, but it had a mouth full of fangs and a red mask around its hideous yellow eyes. Jeri let out a scream, but that turned out to be a fatal mistake. For the monstrous larva leapt forward and went into Jeri's mouth. Jeri's body convulsed as the thing forced its long snake-like body down her throat. After several agonizing moments, the worm had fully slithered down Jeri's throat and the screen of her laptop went dead. She then fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

In another part of the city, Takato stood out on the balcony of his apartment looking out at the night sky in deep thought. Calumon and Guilmon were inside playing a game of some sort. The two Digimon had earlier assured Takato that they would not make a mess, but any damage to the apartment they could cause was the furthest thing from Takato's mind. At the moment he was thinking of how everything around him seemed to be falling apart, worst of all his relationship with Jeri. He still couldn't believe that it was all because of one little misunderstanding.

Takato had thought about going back to Jeri's again to try and talk after his little visit with Yamaki. But had relented and decided he would have better chances tomorrow. Takato was stirred from his thoughts when the cell phone at his waste began to ring. Immediately Takato answered, not bothering to check whom it was on the caller ID.

"Hey Takato old buddy." Said a strikingly familiar voice on the other end of the line. "Guess you didn't have a such good day, huh? Sorry 'bout that."

"What do you want Nash?" Takato demanded to know. Inside the apartment, Guilmon noticed Takato's conversation.

"You remember my voice, I'm flattered." Parker said with a hint of sarcasm. "Anyway, I guess I'm the last guy you wanna talk to after your little visit with the feds."

"How do you know about that?" Takato asked as Guilmon came out and joined him on the balcony.

"Dude, my partner is Wizardmon. He has some pretty slick ways of keeping an eye on people." Parker explained. "In fact we're watching you right now. That's a pretty nice apartment, by the way. The one I got back home is a dump."

"What do you want?" Takato asked again.

"Well, I think it's about time you and I had round two of our little match." Parker answered. "Meet me and Wizardmon at Tokyo Bay tomorrow at noon. I'll email you the exact place later. And don't bring anyone besides Guilmon. Aw heck, I'll let Calumon come too. The little guy's pretty cute. But no one else, and don't even think about calling that fed."

"And what'll you do if I don't?" Takato asked.

"You know this is a nice bakery your parents have." Parker commented. "And such friendly service. Your mother is truly a gem. Yeah, it'd be a real shame if this place, say, I don't know, caught on fire? Maybe with your parents still inside? Are you reading me good buddy?"

"…Yeah, yeah I read ya." Takato replied, knowing very well what Parker was implying to do should he not keep quiet.

"Beautiful. See tomorrow at noon buddy. It's gonna be a blast." And with that, the line went dead.

"What is it Takato?" Guilmon asked.

"Looks like we have an appointment tomorrow Guilmon." Takato replied.

* * *

Entering Jeri's apartment through the window later in the night was a small black humanoid creature with large pointed ears, a long tail, and a white face with green eyes. He wore red gloves on his hands and a red bandanna around his neck, and on the creature's stomach was a yellow smiley face with fangs. This was Impmon, and his relationship with Jeri was a complicated one. The simple fact of the matter was that Jeri had every reason to despise Impmon, for it was as the demon lord Beelzemon that Impmon had killed Jeri's partner, Leomon, out of a desire for power. Yet somehow Jeri had forgiven him during the battle with the D-Reaper, and since that time they had become friends.

Occasionally Impmon would drop in on Jeri some nights just to see how she was doing, which was his reason for entering the apartment at that moment. When Impmon saw Jeri on the ground out cold he became extremely worried.

"Yo Jeri! Wake up!" the young demon Digimon called as he shook Jeri by the shoulder. Slowly Jeri opened her eyes and began to get up. "You okay Jeri? Are ya sick or somethin'?"

"Oh, Impmon." Jeri observed absent mindedly as she sat up on the couch. Impmon suddenly noticed how pale Jeri seemed to look, and that her eyes seemed to be red. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by." Impmon explained. "It's a good thing I did too. You look awful. Not that I mean you're ugly, which you're not. But that ya look like you've seen better days. You feelin' okay?"

"How funny that you'd be so concerned about my well-being." Jeri said with a cold smile. "But then I suppose it is out of guilt for what you did. Murdering Leomon in cold blood only to prove your strength."

"Now wait just a minute…" a very offended Impmon began to protest, but couldn't finish when he found himself draw to Jeri's eyes.

Jeri's eyes were indeed red, very red. Impmon felt as if they were staring into his very soul. And try as he might, Impmon could not turn away from them.

"What a pathetic creature you truly are." Jeri continued, her voice becoming about as hypnotic as her eyes. "You gained the power of one of the great Old Ones, and you wasted it on those who were far weaker than you. And then you felt remorse for what you did. You still do, don't you Impmon?"

"Yes." Impmon admitted mindlessly.

"I can make all that guilt and remorse go away. Would you like that Impmon?" Jeri asked with a predatory gaze.

"Yes." Impmon said again.

"Good." Jeri said with a grin that revealed very sharp incisor fangs. "Join with me." And with that Jeri picked up Impmon, pulled back the bandanna around his neck, and bit down.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I think I might've left a few clues as to who the real villain of this story is in this chapter. Anyway, you'll not that "Jeri" referred to Beelzemon as on of the Old Ones when she was talking to Impmon. And back in _Home by the Sea_, Devimon referred to the Seven Lords as one of the Old Ones as well. So there's kind of a tie-in there.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Duel

**Author's Note:** By now those of you reading have most likely guessed the identity of our mystery villain. I won't be naming him yet, but I think we all know who it is. There will be a couple more tip-offs in this next chapter. I will say that those of you who have guessed correctly have only pieced together the tip of the horror. Anyway, we now come to the chapter that is the main reason for this story's M rating.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 3: Duel

Of all the Digimon Tamers in Takato's group, the youngest were a sister and brother named Ai and Mako. At the tender age of four, Ai and Mako encountered Impmon, and treated the poor digital imp as no more than a plaything, no different than a stuffed animal. This experience had unfortunately soured Impmon's view of humans and caused him to go down the path that led him to becoming Beelzemon. But not long after the emergence of the D-Reaper, Impmon had reconciled with the two children and at the end of the conflict the two had officially become Impmon's Tamers. Ten years had passed since that time, and Ai and Mako had reached their teens. Still children, but far more mature than they once were.

That morning, fourteen-year-old Ai sat at the dining room table doing math homework. Her brown hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing a white t-shirt with dark-blue sleeves and tan shorts. Around her neck on the string was the white and purple D-Arc that she shared with her brother. Ai gave a heavy sigh and looked up at the clock on the wall. At that moment, Mako walked in wearing an olive green t-shirt and grey shorts. A basketball was tucked under his arm.

"How're those fractions coming sis?" Maka asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Don't ask." Ai replied with a heavy sigh. "Hey, have you seen Impmon?"

"Not since last night." Make answered as he emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of water in his right hand. "He probably decided to stay at Jeri's for awhile. He's done that before."

"Yeah, I guess." Ai relented. "I just get worried about Impmon sometimes."

"Hey, we've gone days without seeing Impmon sometimes." Mako pointed out as he sat down at the table across from Ai. "He can definitely take care of himself."

"True." Ai agreed. "Plus he can become Beelzemon if he needs to."

At that moment, the window of the apartment opened from the outside and Impmon entered. The demon Digimon had a dazed expression on his face and his eyes were blood red. Almost mechanically he walked through the apartment up to Ai and Mako.

"Oh hey, there he is right now." Mako said to Ai with a smile, unaware of the odd change in Impmon. "Hey Impmon, you had Ai a little worried." Impmon said nothing and simply stood and stared. "Impmon?"

"Impmon, are you okay?" asked a worried Ai as she stood up from her chair.

The instant Ai stood up, Impmon jumped at her with an open mouth, revealing a sharp pair of fangs.

* * *

Noon came, and Takato, Guilmon, and Calumon went to the area of Tokyo Bay that Parker told them to come. They had been waiting for about ten minutes near an old warehouse and there was no sign of either Parker or Wizardmon. Takato was becoming impatient.

"There you guys are." Parker said as he arrived with Wizardmon. "Sorry we're late. Forgot to set my alarm. How ya doin' buddy."

"You got me here, so let's get this over with!" Takato told him.

"Down to business, I like that." Parker noted. "Okay then, ready to do this thing Wizardmon?"

"Whenever you are." The mystical Digimon replied.

"Awesome! Let's rumble!" Parker declared, and his D-Arc gave out the mechanized cry of one word.

"BIOMERGE"

Parker changed into a ball of purplish light and entered Wizardmon.

"Wizardmon biomerge digivolve to… Dynasmon!" Wizardmon cried as he transformed in a flash of light.

Once the light had cleared, Wizardmon had become a humanoid figure clad in white armor. On the palms of his large light-blue hands he had red gemstones. The toes of his boots were gold and looked like large claws. On the sides of his head were small horns, and on his back a pair of tattered purple wings that made him look almost like a dragon.

"What the…?" Takato exclaimed.

"Did you think you and your friends, Henry, Rika, and Ryo, were the only ones who could biomerge?" Dynasmon asked in both his own voice and Parkers as he slowly walked towards him. "Now are we doing this or what?"

"Fine!" Takato said as Calumon quickly flew off of his shoulder to find a safe place to watch. "Ready Guilmon?"

Guilmon growled in response and Takato's D-Arc activated.

"BIOMERGE"

Takato turned into a ball of red light and entered Guilmon.

"Guilmon biomerge digivolve to… Gallantmon!" Guilmon cried as he transformed with a burst of red light.

With his transformation complete, the knight launched a powerful blast of energy from his lance. But before the attack could hit, Dynasmon suddenly vanished leaving Gallantmon stunned. Before Gallantmon could figure out what happened, Dynasmon reappeared behind him and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick. Gallantmon quickly managed to recover, but the instant he did Dynasmon's fists began to glow with a red light and he began to deliver a series of swift and powerful punches that Gallantmon just barely managed to block with his shield. Within Gallantmon, Takato recalled that Yamaki had mentioned something about Parker being a street fighter. That skill combined with Dynasmon's raw speed and power was proving to be a deadly combination.

The force of Dynasmon's punches was so strong that Gallantmon had to dig his heels into the concrete to stay standing. Dynasmon then let loose one last powerful punch at Gallantmon's shield, sending the white knight flying backward into a pile of wooden crates. Only a split second after Gallantmon hit the crates, Dynasmon rose into the air and fired powerful beams of red light from his palms at the pile, causing an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Gallantmon was back on his feet breathing heavily.

"You won't get anywhere fighting like that." Dynasmon said as he hovered in the air. "You must show me the fiery passion of your heart. Only then will you be able to defeat me."

"You asked for it!" Gallantmon cried as he leapt into the air at Dynasmon.

* * *

Seventeen-year-old Suzie Wong entered her family's apartment with a slam of the door. She sighed, slipped off her shoes, set her pink purse on the small table by the door and checked her reflection in the small mirror on the wall. What Suzie was paying close attention to was her hair. Earlier that morning her hair was long and brown as it had always been, but during a trip to the mall with her friends had been cut just above her shoulders and dyed neon pink. It was her choice to get it dyed pink of course, but when the deed was all said and done, her friends only laughed at her.

Suzie's new hairstyle was so far not having the desired effect. But then what did her friends know? She thought it looked cute. Suzie imagined that perhaps her father and brother would have a radically different opinion, but as a rebellious seventeen-year-old girl Suzie didn't really give a damn about what they thought. Suzie decided that it was time for an opinion that really mattered to her, that of her Digimon partner Lopmon.

Like her older brother Henry, Suzie had also become a Digimon Tamer ten years before, and her partner Lopmon looked like a chocolate version of Henry's partner, Terriermon. Normally Lopmon would travel with Suzie on some of her outings, but Suzie had requested that he stay home that day so that she could surprise him with her new look.

"Hey Lopmon, I want to show you something." Suzie said as she entered her room and tossed her blue leather jacket into its usual corner. She saw Lopmon sitting on his usual cushion under her bedroom and noticed that something seemed off. "Lopmon?"

Lopmon did not respond at all. He merely sat there on the cushion with a blank stare. Suzie went over to see if there was something wrong with her Digimon friend and found that his eyes were oddly red. A trail of drool was trailing down the side of his chin. Suzie's attention was taken away from Lopmon by the sound of running water from another room of the house. What alarmed Suzie was that her father wasn't due to return until later in the day. The thought did occur to her that perhaps he had returned early, but with Lopmon in his trance-like state Suzie had to wonder if they had an uninvited guest. Cautiously she went to investigate.

Following the sound of running water, Suzie came to her father's bedroom. Steam was coming out through the open door of the adjoining bathroom. Slowly Suzie walked further into the bedroom and heard the sound of the shower faucet being turned off. She glanced down to the area of carpet by the bathroom door and saw a discarded pile of clothes, including a black sweater with a lot of dried blood on it. The sense of fear that Suzie had been feeling had started to rise.

Hesitantly Suzie looked into the open bathroom and saw Jeri just out of the shower, checking herself out in the bathroom mirror. Her skin was very pale and her fingernails were ruby red. Suzie found that for some reason she could not take her eyes off of Jeri. She looked… beautiful.

"Ah Suzie. I hope you don't mind that I let myself in. Well actually Lopmon let me in" Jeri explained from the bathroom, not once taking her eyes off the mirror. "I simply had to take a shower. The process of regaining my strength has been a little… messy."

"Um, no problem." Suzie replied. She relaxed a little, as Jeri was of course a friend. But she could not deny the oddity of Jeri's visit, or help from wonder why she had blood on her clothes.

"I have to say, I am simply adoring the body." Jeri stated as she continued to check herself out in the mirror. "Though it has taken me a bit to get used to it. The last host I took was male. Still, this body is truly an improvement. And quite beautiful."

"Jeri, are you feeling okay?" Suzi asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jeri at last turned from the mirror to look at Suzie, and for the first time Suzie saw Jeri's deep red eyes. She felt as if those eyes were staring into her very heart, that she was becoming lost in them. Jeri looked back at Suzie with a predatory smile.

"Your body is quite beautiful as well my dear." Jeri said as she went up to Suzie with a very seductive walk. "And what a fetching hairstyle you have." She then stoked Suzie's hair followed by her cheek. "I developed a taste for human women quite some years ago, quite literally as a matter of fact. And you, my dear Suzie, are a piece of candy that I just have to try."

Grabbing Suzie's face, Jeri pulled her into a kiss, jamming her tongue into her mouth. Suzie did not attempt to fight back. In fact she found she was enjoying the kiss. Jeri's tongue was doing amazing things inside her mouth, things that were simply beyond description. All rational thought had left Suzie's mind. Suddenly Jeri pulled away and Suzie found that she wanted more. Needed more. Craved more. Like she had found some wonderful drug.

"Now," Jeri said with a smirk as she crossed her arms, "disrobe for me."

Mindlessly, Suzie pulled off her white t-shirt with the purple cartoon rabbit head on the front and carelessly tossed it away, followed by the pink skirt that she was wearing. It was a skirt that her father always thought was too short, but what did he know. With the removal of her pink bra and panties, Suzie was completely exposed.

"Good." Jeri said before taking Suzie's hand and guiding her over to the bed.

With a gentle push from Jeri, the pink-haired girl fell back onto the bed like a doll. She climbed on top of Suzie and began to kiss her again, and eagerly Suzie kissed back. Their tongues battled for dominance, though it seemed like Jeri's tongue was winning. Eventually they were forced to break apart for air, but it was then that things went further. Jeri began to suck on Suzie's neck, sending her to new heights of pleasure. Slowly Jeri moved down and began to leave fiery kisses on her collarbone.

Eventually Jeri moved a little further down and began to suck on Suzie's left breast. She spent a lot of time on Suzie's breast, much to the pink-haired girl's delight. An eternity later Jeri sat up and spread Suzie's legs apart. Getting off the bed she got on her knees and moved her head in between Suzie's legs, coming close to her entrance. But rather than attacking the citadel of Suzie's womanhood, Jeri turned her attention to her right inner thigh. She kissed and sucked in an area very close to Suzie's entrance, sending Suzie to heights of ecstasy that she had never before thought possible. Then, using her sharp fangs, Jeri bit down on that spot and an explosion of pleasure and pain through Suzie's entire body. One so great that Suzie climaxed. For Suzie everything went white, and then everything went black.

* * *

Back at the bay, the clash between Gallantmon and Dynasmon raged on. They had been fighting for what seemed like almost half an hour and it still looked like it could be anyone's battle. Gallantmon stood atop a crane catching his breath. Dynasmon meanwhile hovered in the air only a few feet away looking like he hadn't even broken a sweat. It was frustration Takato and Gallantmon to no end.

"Ready whenever you are." Dynasmon said confidently.

Tired of Dynasmon's smug attitude, Gallantmon lunged at the dragon knight and fired another blast from his lance. Dynasmon simply moved out of the way of the attack and fired another powerful blast from his palms. The force of the attack sent Gallantmon into the water. Down of the ground, Calumon watch with great concern.

"A pity." Dynasmon said as he looked down at the spot in the water where Gallantmon went down. "I was sure that he was the one I've been searching for. Oh well."

Just as Dynasmon was about to fly off a column of water suddenly erupted behind him. The dragon knight turned around and saw Gallantmon hovering in the air a few feet away. His armor had turned a bright crimson and instead of a cape he had ten wings of white light. In his right hand, Gallantmon held a spear that seemed to be made of the same light as his wings, and in his left hand he held a sword of white light. With a swing of his sword, Gallantmon sent a blade of white light at Dynasmon.

The attack hit and Dynasmon was knocked back to the earth, splitting back into Parker and Wizardmon on impact. Gallantmon landed back on the ground and split back into Takato and Guilmon. The duo walked toward the fallen Parker and Wizardmon.

"Okay. We give." Parker said as he stood up, raising his hands in surrender. Takato responded by punching Parker in the face. "Yeah, okay. I deserved that." Parker said after recovering from the blow. "I guess I went a little too far threatening your parents like that. For that I'm sorry. But it was only a bluff to get you pist at me, which I guess worked a little too well."

"What the hell is this about Nash?" Takato angrily demanded to know.

"We were testing you." Wizardmon cut in.

"Testing us for what?" Takato asked as Guilmon growled at the mystical Digimon.

"Testing to see if you could wield the Sword of Yggdrasill." Wizardmon answered.

* * *

Henry Wong came to his father's apartment, which was in a way still his home, to pick up something that he had accidentally left there earlier that day. Terriermon was on his normal perch of Henry's shoulder as Henry reached up to knock on the door. But upon touching the door it swung in on its hinges. Henry sighed heavily. He assumed that Suzie had forgotten to lock the door as she sometimes did. Even with Lopmon as a bodyguard it was still dangerous for a young girl in the city to leave the door unlocked. It was an invitation for any scumbag off the street to come in and have their way with her.

Looking in through the open door, Henry and Terriermon found the apartment almost completely dark. Fear rose up from the pit of Henry's stomach.

"Hello? Suzie?" Henry called as he walked into the apartment with Terriermon.

"Maybe she and Lopmon aren't home." Terriermon suggested optimistically.

Suddenly the two noticed sounds coming from the den. Walking in they saw that the T.V. was on, turned to some program about weird museum artifacts. Moving closer to the couch they saw Lopmon sitting and staring blankly at the set. Henry noticed the odd red tint in the three horned rabbit's eyes.

"You okay Lopmon?" Terriermon asked.

Lopmon turned his head to look up at Terriermon, and suddenly the brown rabbit leapt out of his seat bearing a pair of sharp fangs. Lopmon knocked Terriermon off of Henry's shoulder and tackled him to the ground. Before Henry could fully react to what was happening, a still naked Suzie snuck up behind him and bit him on the neck.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I don't really think I have to mention that it wasn't really Jeri that came onto Suzie like that in that one scene. Or rather it was and it wasn't. Anyway, I felt like I had to do that scene since this is technically my first vampire story.

On a different note, those of your reading familiar with the later Digimon sagas are probably aware that Dynasmon is a member of the Royal Knights like Gallantmon. I kind of found out that Wizardmon could potentially evolve into Dynasmon (via Mistymon) a little late. You see if I had known that sooner, Parker's character probably would've been a part of Team Excalibur and based more on Merlin. Just as Arthur Pierce is based a little on King Arthur. Then again, things probably worked out better this way.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Sword of Yggdrasill

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 4: Sword of Yggdrasill

Late in the afternoon, an exhausted Janyu Wong had returned home to his apartment building. It had been a very long day at the office, one that had filled Janyu with a sense of dread. Ten years ago during the original adventures of Takato and his fellow Tamers, Janyu was recruited into Hypnos. More accurately he was drafted. Drafted because he was part of the original group that had created Digimon during the 1980s, the Monster Makers. But Janyu did play an instrumental in the battle with the D-Reaper by creating the Red Card that was the means of defeating the digital horror.

Since that time as Digimon became more publicly known and as more Tamers began to show up, Hypnos had retained the services of Janyu and his fellow Monster Makers. The purpose of the Monster Makers had been to study the Digital World and its inhabitants. A relaxing and quite fascinating job to say the least, but for the past month observation of the Digital World had become unsettling. Janyu was the one to spot them first, odd disturbances of some sort that could not be explained. At first the anomalies were minor, but over time they had started to increase.

No one on the team could figure out just what it was they were seeing, but Janyu had an idea of what it might. He didn't share his theory with the rest of his team though, or with Yamaki. He didn't want to say anything until he was absolutely sure. He hoped that he was wrong, prayed in fact. But the simple fact was that the D-Reaper was never destroyed, only regressed into a primitive and harmless form. Which meant there was a chance that it could evolve back into what it once was and begin the whole nightmare over again. So Janyu had to deal with the prospect of a returning apocalyptic horror, not to mention a rebellious teenage daughter at home.

That afternoon Janyu returned to find the door of the apartment slightly ajar, open to only darkness. A surge of worry shot up Janyu's spine as he immediately thought of all the worst-case scenarios. The most favorable one was that the apartment had simply been robbed while the absolute worst was that someone had come and murdered Suzie or worse. After a few moments Janyu bit the bullet and pushed open the door. Slowly he entered the apartment and heard noise coming from the den. Moving into the den he found that the T.V. was on. He noticed Suzie sitting on the couch wearing noting but an oversized white t-shirt.

"Suzie?" Janyu called, prompting the pink-haired girl to turn her head. Janyu noticed her pale skin and red eyes. Suzie's only reply was a rather predatory smile. "What on earth did you do to your hair?" He exclaimed, at last noticing Suzie's latest hairstyle.

Suddenly a fanged Lopmon leapt at Janyu from a dark corner of the room and went for his neck.

* * *

After their little battle, Parker and Wizardmon led Takato and his two Digimon friends to a warehouse along the bay. Upon entering the structure, Takato saw that a small folding table and two chairs had been set up in the middle of the large room. Not far away from the table on a crate was a small green portable T.V., and next to the crate was an iron-grey sleeping bag.

"Wizardmon and I have been crashing here since we came to your fair city." Parker explained as he went over and took a seat in one of the two chairs. Wizardmon sat down on a small crate only a few feet away from where Parker was sitting. "Go ahead, make yourself at home."

Had Takato not been so worn out from the previous battle he would have declined Parker's invitation to sit. But worn out he was, so Takato sat down and glared at Parker from across the same table. Guilmon took a seat next to Takato while Calumon flew up onto the table.

"Okay, I know you're still mad. But I can explain." Parker began. "First of all, I'm sorry I threatened your folks and their place of business over the phone like that. I wasn't really going to do anything. I'm not that kinda guy. That threat was just a bluff to get you to come here alone."

"Just tell me what the hell this is all about." Takato ordered. "What's this sword you and Wizardmon were talking about?"

"I think I'll let Wizardmon field that question." Parker replied.

"Long ago in the Digital World, thousands of years by your perspective," Wizardmon began, "there existed a powerful protector god known as Yggdrasill. In those ancient times, Yggdrasill came to the plain of the Digital World where I once resided and left behind a shard of itself. It told the elders of my homeland that the power of the shard could be used to destroy great even, but that only a certain individual could wield its power. So the elders had the shard forged into a sword, and for generations my clan has been entrusted with the task of finding the one who could use its awesome power."

"What happened to this Yggdrasill?" Calumon asked.

"According only to legend, Yggdrasill perished fighting a group of wicked Digimon whose names I shall not repeat here." Wizardmon answered.

"What does Nash have to do with all this?" Takato asked, sounding a little less angry.

"The deeds of you and your fellow Tamers became very well known even in my homeland." Wizardmon continued. "And after much thought I had decided to try finding the one to wield the sword here in your world. When I first arrived here I encountered Parker and thought that perhaps he was the one I had been searching for. As it turned out I was wrong, but he became my partner and together we learned how to unleash our full power."

"In the end I decided to help Wizardmon out with his quest." Parker interjected. "We talked about it for a long time and decided that the sword wasn't meant to be used by either one human or one Digimon, but by a human and Digimon team."

"Over time Parker and I learned more about your exploits Takato Matsuki." Wizardmon went on. "In the end we decided that the ones to wield the sword were either you and Sir Guilmon, or Ryo Akiyama and his partner Cyberdramon."

"Why Ryo and Cyberdramon?" Takato inquired.

"You would understand if you knew who they really were and where they really come from." Wizardmon replied.

"But that part doesn't really matter." Parker cut in. "You and Guilmon are our guys."

"Okay, say for a moment that I believe this story of yours." Takato said as he stood from his chair. "Why us?"

"I've lived a hard life Takato." Parker said with a slight chuckle. "Your friend the fed told you a little about that last night. Course that's only part of the story. But one thing I've learned is that anyone with a burning heart and unstoppable will can do anything, beat any opponent, crash through any obstacle. And you Takato old buddy, you and Guilmon have those two things in spades."

"But why did you challenge Takato and Guilmon to fight?" Calumon asked.

"Well Wizardmon and I needed to be sure we had the right guys," Parker explained, "so we had to test them. That's why I pretty much pretended to be a super villain on the phone last night. We needed them ticked off at us. And the fact that they beat us proves that they're the ones."

"Alright, so what are Guilmon and I supposed to do with this sword?" a still skeptical Takato asked.

"You must use it to fight a great evil that is on the rise as we speak." Wizardmon said ominously.

* * *

Jeri, or rather the thing that was using her body, walked through the city wearing black heels and a black low-cut mini-dress. As she turned left down the sidewalk three young men in their early twenties noticed her walk by and began to follow. Jeri knew that she was being followed though and smirked. The thing inside her had quickly learned that men become so much dumber when the blood flowing into their brains get redirected to their crotches. Seeing that her prey had taken the bait, Jeri turned into an ally that she knew had a dead end. The three young men followed in after her.

"Well, well, well." Said the leader of the trio, who was wearing baggy black pants, an orange hooded sweatshirt, and a green ski cap. "What's a pretty little thing like you doin' in this neighborhood? Are ya lost?"

"Are you gentlemen offering to show me around?" Jeri asked with a predatory smile.

"Oh, I can show you a whole lot more than that, sweet thing." The young man in the ski cap said as he advanced. His two friends snickering as he did so.

"Go ahead then." Jeri said as she backed up against the wall and took a seductive pose.

The ski capped young man went up to her, but when he went in to kiss her she bit him on the neck with her fangs. His two friends watched in horror as the color completely drained from his skin.

"Yoshi, you okay bro?" as his friend who had spiked blond hair and wore a blue t-shirt with a black skull on the front and tattered blue jeans. Jeri removed her fangs from Yoshi's neck and he turned around to face him. His eyes had become blood red.

"I assure you gentlemen that I am more than okay." Yoshi and Jeri both said together in sync.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" asked the final young man, who had slicked back dark hair and a terrified expression.

"No clue, but I'm gettin' the shit outta here!" the blond replied. They both turned around and started to run, but before they could even get out of the ally they heard a loud thumping noise coming down the street.

In moments a large Digimon that resembled a t-rex with a horned helmet blocked the exit. It was a Greymon, but its normally orange skin was as white as chalk and its eyes were shining a crimson red.

"There's no use escaping. I'm everywhere." Jeri said as she approached them with Yoshi.

"I suggest you make it easy on yourselves and join with me now." Yoshi recommended in a speech pattern that was practically identical to Jeri's.

* * *

Chaos had erupted at Hypnos HQ. Wild Digimon had started to appear all over the city. Yamaki was in his office having a loud phone conversation with the Chief Cabinet Secretary and a military general when one his system operators, Tally Onodera, entered the room.

"I'll call you back sir." Yamaki said into the speakerphone before hanging up. "What is it Tally?"

"Ten more Digimon just bio-emerged in Ikebukuro." Tally reported. "That brings the total up to forty-two."

"Did you call Janyu and the others?" Yamaki asked.

"They're on their way." Tally replied.

"One of them is here now." Said a voice from right outside the doorway. Janyu entered the office wearing a pair of sunglasses. "I came as soon as I could."

"I need you to start figuring out what's causing all these Digimon to appear." Yamaki ordered as he walked out from behind his desk. He failed to notice Janyu's pale complexion. "I'll be in the control room."

"Of course." Janyu said with a smile as he stepped aside to allow Yamaki to exit. Tally quickly followed after. "Oh Tally, could you come here for a moment?" Tally stopped and turned around. "I need to show you something."

"I'm afraid I'm needed in the control center right now sir." Tally told him. "Perhaps later…"

"Please, it's important." Janyu insisted. Tally sighed and walked up to him.

"So what is it that you need to show me?" Tally asked. Janyu opened his mouth and bared his fangs.

* * *

Back at the warehouse, Takato and Guilmon were still quite skeptical about all that Parker and Wizardmon had told them. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Guilmon gave Wizardmon a growl.

"I understand you mistrust of me Sir Guilmon." Wizardmon responded. "But we are on the same side. In fact both you and I are connected."

"How?" Guilmon asked.

"We can both become knights." Wizarmon explained. "It is no coincidence that our fully evolved forms are similar. Long ago, Yggdrasill created a powerful warrior to protect the Digital World and fight the wicked Digimon that opposed him. That warrior was the first knight, Alphamon. And there are certain Digimon who have the genetic potential to evolve into begins similar him. You and I are two such Digimon."

"Never mind that!" Takato interrupted as he stood from his chair again. "What's this evil that's supposed to be coming?"

"To be honest, we don't know." Parker admitted. "But we do have one theory. It's the D-Reaper."

"Oh come on! Now I know you're full of crap!" Takato exclaimed, flailing his arms. "My friends and I took down the D-Reaper years ago!"

"Yeah you beat it, but you didn't destroy it." Parker pointed out. "According to what Wizardmon and I found out, all you and your fed buddies could do was devolve it."

"Yeah, so?" Takato replied.

"So it could probably evolve back into what it used to be." Parker explained. "Maybe sooner than we all think."

"…Could it really?" Takato wondered, finally realizing what the rogue Tamer and his Digimon were implying.

"Why not?" Wizardmon replied. "As long as the D-Reaper exists in any form it is still a threat. The elders of my homeland believe that Yggdrasill foresaw the rise of the D-Reaper and left the shard so that we could create a weapon that could destroy it completely."

"Well then where were you and that sword ten years ago?" Takato asked.

"My people and I did not learn of your battle with the D-Reaper until after it had occurred." Wizardmon explained. "But that is not important now. For the past month I have been sensing the rise of a great power in the Digital World."

"And you really think it's the D-Reaper?" Takato asked.

"…Or something worse." Wizardmon said gravely.

"What could be worse than the D-Reaper?" a shuddering Calumon asked. Suddenly Takato's cell phone rang at his belt, causing the little Digimon to jump.

Takato took up his phone and looked at the caller ID. It was his friend Kazu.

"What's up Kazu?" Takato asked into the phone.

"Dude! Where the hell are you?" Kazu frantically asked on the other end of the line.

"Well, I'm at Tokyo Bay." Takato answered. "Why?"

"We've got major problems right now!" Kazu told him.

"Is it a wild Digimon?" Takato inquired.

"No! Well, yeah actually. A bunch." Kazu replied. "But it's worse than that! We've got vampires!"

"Vampires?" Takato repeated into the phone with a raised eyebrow. "Kazu, have you and Kenta been smoking pot again?"

"WHAT? Dude, we only did that one time in high school!" an offended Kazu yelled. "Look, I'm not kidding around! Go find a T.V. and see for yourself!"

Takato shrugged and decided to humor his friend. "Hey Nash, that T.V. of yours work?"

"Allow me." Wizardmon said as he aimed his staff at the small television set and fired a gold beam of light at it. The set turned on to a channel with a woman newscaster in a red blazer.

_"We have reports that the number of Digimon sightings is continuing to increase."_ The newscaster said frantically on screen. _"There are also sightings of people who seem to be exhibiting vampire-like qualities. These individuals are considered to be extremely dangerous. Be on the lookout for anyone showing signs of extremely pale skin, red eyes fangs, and in extreme cases visible veins. Authorities are unable to explain the cause of this strange illness, but it seems that some of the Digimon that have been appearing in the city are exhibiting the same symptoms. The military has already moved in and…"_

"This is the threat that is worse than the D-Reaper." Wizardmon said over the newscast. "And it seems it has already risen."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Incase anyone was wondering, that was a wild Greymon that showed up in that one scene. Anyway, vampire infestations can spread like wildfire. All it takes is one. Jeri, or rather you know who, has already gotten to most of Takato's friends. He's got backup coming in the next chapter though. By the way, there's a reason why I mentioned the D-Reaper so many times in this chapter. You never will believe what part that thing plays in all this.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Outbreak

**Author's Note:** If you haven't read Demon Crisis Book 4: Pride, you might want to go back and do so. Otherwise part of this chapter might be a little confusing.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 5: Outbreak

The afternoon sun had begun to set as Takato drove his beat-up grey van further into the city. Parker was in the passenger seat while the three Digimon were in the back. Their destination was the spot where Takato's two friends, Kazu Shioda and Kenta Kitagawa, were cornered by what was being called the vampire hoard. Takato wanted to call the things by another name, no term other than vampire seemed to apply. As they rode through the city Takato and Parker saw that the sky was teeming with Digmon. Some were giant fat birds with arms while the rest were serpent-like dragons with skull-like faces. The two Tamers recognized the bird Digimon as Parrotmon and the dragons as Airdramon, but there was something very wrong with them. The normally green feathers of the Parrotmon and green scales of the Airdramon had turned black and their eyes glowed a crimson red. It was clear that the airborne Digimon had become vampires as well.

Meanwhile on the ground there were several human vampires either wandering the street or chasing people who had not been transformed. Many times Takato wanted to pull over and help those poor people, but he had to stay focused on getting to his friends. He would worry about helping the other victims later, if that were possible that is. At last they arrived at the sporting goods shot where Kazu and Kenta had been working. Takato parked the van in the alley where it would be out of sight, the rear doors were facing the shop.

"Okay, I say we biomerge and bust in there." Parker suggested.

"And attack innocent people?" Takato asked, appalled.

"Only punch and kick them away, not blow them up. Those vampires out there may still be people more or less but we are in enemy territory." Parker pointed out. "Most likely those thing out there'll swarm us. We'd probably stand a much better chance with Gallantmon and Dynasmon."

"Okay, fine!" Takato grudgingly agreed. "Let's get this over with."

With that, Takato and Parker's D-Arcs gave out the familiar cry of one word.

"BIOMERGE"

Takato and Parker turned into balls of light and went into their respective Digimon.

"Guilmon biomerge digivolve to… Gallantmon!" Guilmon cried as he began to transform with a flash of red light.

"Wizardmon biomerge digivolve to… Dynasmon!" Wizardmon cried as he transformed with a flash of purplish light.

In moments the rear doors of the van burst open and Gallantmon charged out with Callumon hanging on tightly to his shoulder, followed closely by Dynasmon. As they dashed across the street to the sporting goods shop several vampires came at them. Gallantmon batted them away with his lance and cleared a path. When the reached the shop, Gallantmon burst down the door the door and rushed in. But as soon as he rushed in a small missile came at him. The white knight blocked the blast with his shield.

When the smoke cleared he got a good look at who had fired him. It was a brown clunky robot with green eyes. Immediately Takato and Gallantmon recognized the machine as Guardromon, the Digimon partner of Kazu. As if on cue, a young man with brown hair peeked up from behind the front counter of the shop. This was Kazu, and next to him was another young man with dark hair and glasses, Kenta. Perched on Kenta's shoulder was a small pink fairy-like sea creature with a red heart on the front of its chest. This was Kenta's Digimon MarineAngemon.

"Don't come any closer or else Guardromon will blow you away!" Kazu warned.

"Guys, it's us." Gallantmon said in Takato's voice.

"How do we know you aren't vampires?" Kenta asked with a suspicious look.

"Quick, what day is my birthday?" Kazu asked.

"What? How does that prove I'm not a vampire?" Gallantmon asked, still in Takato's voice.

"What's the holdup?" Dynasmon asked as he walked into the shop from behind Gallantmon.

"Who the hell is he?" Kazu demanded to know.

"Someone who I'd like to beat to a pulp." Gallantmon answered, this time in both his own voice and Gallantmon's. "But right now we need his help. Let's just get out of here and get to Yamaki. Maybe he can figure out what's going on."

"How do we know that once we get outside you won't suck out our blood and oil?" Guardromon asked, still aiming his armed fist at the two knights.

"Fine, we can just leave you here and you can fend for yourselves." Gallantmon told them. Kazu, Kenta, Guardromon, and MarineAngemon all looked at each other for a moment.

"Okay, we'll go." Kazu finally agreed.

"Finally, let's get moving." Gallantmon said as he led the way out.

When they all get outside they found a long row of human vampires across the street, blocking access to the van. Two more rows of vampires were to their left and right, boxing them in. The vampires all looked at the heroes with fanged grins.

"I thought you would be the one to interfere with me Takato." The vampires all said together like some sort of demonic chorus.

"What's going on here?" a terrified Kenta asked. "Why are they all talking at the same time?"

"The ones before you are extensions of my being." The vampire chorus explained. "I am Legion, for we are many. I am one mind with many arms, legs, and faces. I can speak with one voice at a time or with many at once. And I have spread myself far."

"So who, what are you?" Gallantmon asked.

"At the moment I would prefer to keep my true name a secret." The vampire chorus answered. "But know that I have spread myself far. There is no way you can defeat me."

"We'll see about that!" Gallantmon said defiantly.

"Crimson Corona!" a voice suddenly cried out as a blast of red light came at them from above.

Gallantmon just barely managed to block the attack with his shield. When the smoke cleared they saw a familiar humanoid figure hovering above them wearing a black leather jacket with a dirty white-furred collar and a large cannon on his right arm. But something was very wrong. His three eyes were yellow instead of their normal green. The mask covering the top half of his face was red instead of black. Four red-feathered wings grew from his back. The buckle of his belt was in the shape of a golden bat.

"Beelzemon?" a shocked Gallantmon called up.

"This creature has become but another extension of my being." The demon lord Digimon replied with a fanged smirk. "You may now call him ViralBeelzemon."

* * *

Back at Hypnos HQ, the member of the Monster Makers, Gorou Mizuno, known to his friends as Shibumi looked at the computer on his desk with a furrowed brow. He was having absolutely no luck figuring out what was causing all the wild Digimon to appear. Shibumi sighed heavily as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Shibumi, could you come over here for a moment?" Janyu called over from his desk. "I think I may have figured out what's behind all this."

"On my way." Shibumi said as he got up from his chair. He went over to Janyu's desk and noticed the sunglasses he was wearing, but paid little attention to them. "So what did you find?"

Janyu grinned, bared his fangs, and leapt over his desk at Shibumi.

* * *

Riley Yamaki sat in the break room drinking a much-needed cup of coffee. She felt bad about stepping away from the control room, but her husband and boss insisted that she step away and get a little rest. At that moment Tally entered the room looking very pale.

"You ordered to take a break too?" Riley asked.

"Uh yeah. I'm actually glad he did to." Tally said as she took a seat next to her coworker. "I'm feeling a little puckish."

"I could get you a chocolate bar or something." Riley offered.

"Actually, could you come closer?" Tally requested.

"Um, okay. Sure." Riley said with a smile and a shrug. Deciding to humor her friend, Riley leaned in closer. And that was when Tally bit her on the neck with her fangs.

* * *

Gallantmon and Dynasmon had become locked in battle with ViralBeelzemon in the sky. Kazu, Kenta, and the remaining Digimon barricaded themselves back inside the sporting goods store to try and protect themselves. But the human vampires on the ground did nothing to go after them. Meanwhile the two knights were continuing to struggle against the infected demon lord.

"Grizzly Wing!" ViralBeelzemon cried out as he flapped his wings and released a swarm of black bats.

"Shield of the Just!" Gallantmon cried out with a blast of the shield, incinerating the swarm.

Within Gallantmon, Takato found something very odd about the attack ViralBeelzemon had just used. But he didn't have much time to think about it though because Gallantmon was hit in the back by a fireball. At the same time, Dynasmon was struck in the back by a bolt of lightning. The two knights turned around to see some of the infected Airdramon and Parrotmon flying towards them.

"Hey! That's not playing fair!" Dynasmon complained.

"Those Digimon are all me. So as this as technically two against one, I am being more than fair." ViralBeelzemon retorted. "Your resistance is futile, knights. Either join with me or die."

Before Gallantmon or Dynasmon could respond, a strange black vortex opened up in the sky. Shooting out of the vortex like a rocket as it began to dissapear was a large four-legged dragon with massive red wings and a cannon on its back. It had a mane of white hair on its head. On his feet he wore black gauntlets with long gold claws, the front pair of which each having a long curved gold blade.

"An Imperialdramon?" Gallantmon asked.

Imperialdramon made a sharp turn and began to fly towards them at incredible speed. As he came he fired off blasts of light from his cannon, taking out some of the infected Digimon.

"Tentomon warp digivolve to… HerculesKabuterimon!" a voice cried out as a ball of purple light shot off of the dragons back.

The light grew and transformed into a large golden beetle with long legs and massive tusks. The beetle fired off a massive ball of purple electricity at more of the swarm.

"…Warp DNA digivolve to… Omnimon!" two more voices cried out from the back of the dragon and became one voice with the utterance of their other name.

A ball of blue light and a ball of orange light shot off the back of the dragon and collided in mid air, only to bounce off of each other. The ball of blue light became a silver right arm that ended in the head of a wolf, while the orange light changed into a golden left arm that ended in the head of a dragon and had a shield on the shoulder. A current of golden electricity formed between the two arms and created a spark that formed into a torso of white armor with blue stripes on the chest. And from that grew a waist and a pair of legs. From the top of the torso grew a white helmet and mask. With the head formed, a long white cape with a red underside was deployed from the back, and three horns grew from the top of the helmet. The mouth of the wolf head on Omnimon's right arm opened up and the barrel of a cannon extended from it.

"Supreme Cannon!" Omnimon cried as he fired icy blasts from the cannon at the swarm.

"Cyberdramon biomerge digivolve to… Justimon!" cried out another voice from Imperialdramon's back at it continued to approach.

There was a flash of blue light from the back of the dragon as it came only feet away. Leaping off Imperialdramon was a super hero-like figure clad in a blue and grey costume and a silver helmet that covered his whole face. He had a mechanical right arm, and around his neck he wore a long red scarf. Justimon hit ViralBeelzemon with a flying kick to the chest. The demon lord was hit with such force that he left an impact crater when he hit the pavement. Justimon went down after him and stood ready to fight.

"Ryo, is that really you?" Gallantmon asked as he and Dynasmon joined him on the ground.

"Nice to see you too." Justimon greeted. "Now what were you friend doing fighting Beelzemon?"

"It's not Beelzemon." Gallantmon replied. "Or at least not really."

"This is truly an unexpected development." ViralBeelzemon declared as he got back to his feet. Overhead Imperialdramon made another pass.

"Renamon biomerge digivolve to… Sakuyamon!" a female voice cried out as another flash of light came from the dragon.

Diving down off of Imperialdramon was a woman with long silver hair that split into what looked like foxtails, and a golden fox mask on her face. She wore a black bodysuit with a white belly, and had gold armor on her chest and shoulders. On her arms was a pair of fingerless purple gloves that went up to her elbows, and a matching pair of knee-high high-heeled boots on her legs. Around her waist was a black belt with a gold buckle in the shape of a fox head, and in her right hand she carried a long golden staff.

"Rika! You have no idea how glad I am to see you." Gallantmon told Sakuyamon.

"Save it for later Goggle Head." Sakuyamon replied in Rika's voice, as she stood ready to face ViralBeelzemon. "Now would you mind telling us what's gotten into Beelzemon?"

"More like who." Dynasmon interjected.

"What's that mean?" Sakuyamon asked. With that ViralBeelzemon and the vampires still forming the blockade all began to laugh.

"Okay, this is a little creepy." Justimon commented.

"So you two have return from the other world." ViralBeelzemon commented. "I would've thought that the Old Ones had finished you off."

"Think again." Sakuyamon replied. Imperialdramon then made another pass overhead.

"PawnChessmon biomerge digivolve to… QueenChessmon!" a voice cried from the dragon with another flash of light.

Diving down from the dragon was a woman with long silver hair covered in black armor. A pink visor with an eyehole in the shape of a cross was on the top half of her face. The armor on her chest, shoulders, and around her waist was also pink, and dangling from the pink armor around the waist were several sword blades that formed a sort of skirt. On her back was a pink cap, and in her left hand she carried a long staff with a black mallet above a red gemstone that was above a gold heart. Using her mallet, QueenChessmon hit ViralBeelzemon in the side of her head. The demon lord recovered but the chess queen spun around at high speed and slashed him in the stomach with her skirt blades.

"I thought you said this thing was on our side." QueenChessmon said to Justimon and Sakuyamon after she had stopped spinning.

"Uh Rika, Ryo, who is…?" Gallantmon began to ask.

"There will be time for introductions later." QueenChessmon cut in. "Right now we have bigger problems."

"You have no idea who you're up against." ViralBeelzemon said confidently.

"Neither do you." QueenChessmon smirked. "If I'm right, that ego maniac is going to start showing off any minute now."

"Dorumon biomerge digivolve to… Alphamon!" a voice called out from the back of Imperialdramon in the air.

From Imperialdramon's back there came a flash of white light. A moment later hovering high above the battlefield was a large knight in ornate silver and gold armor. On his back was a pair of armored wings and a long tattered white cape with a blue underside.

"Foul creatures of the Digital World! I, Alphamon, shall put an end to thee!" the night proclaimed. His armored wings unfolded to reveal golden feathers. "Digitalize of Soul!"

A mystical circle of green light suddenly covered the sky. The head of a massive white dragon emerged from the circle and fired a blast of golden light at the swarm, taking a good chunk of it out. The dragon receded back into where it came from and the circle vanished. Alphamon folded his wings and flew down to join Gallantmon and the others.

"Who are you?" ViralBeelzemon asked.

"Your doom." Alphamon replied. "I was told that you were an ally, even though you are the lord of gluttony."

"The lord of gluttony, as you call him, has become but an extension of myself." ViralBeelzemon explained. "As is most of this city. It's only a matter of time before you and your friends become a part of me as well."

"We would sooner die." Alphamon told him.

"So be it." ViralBeezemon laughed before turning into a swarm of black bats and flying away.

The human vampires that had earlier boxed in Takato and his friends quickly dispersed. With the immediate threat over, Gallantmon and Dynasmon split back into the pairs of Takato and Guilmon, and Parker and Wizardmon. At the same time, Sakuyamon split into a young woman with reddish brown hair, who Takato knew to be Rika, and her yellow bipedal fox Digimon, Renamon. Justimon meanwhile split into a young man with brown hair, Ryo, and a humanoid dragon with dark-grey armor and four red wings on his back. This was Ryo's partner, Cyberdramon.

"So who're your new friends?" Rika asked Takato, pointing at Parker and Wizarmon.

"You first." Takato replied.

At that moment, QueenChessmon split into a young woman with long blonde hair and a Digimon that looked like a small black knight with a gold visor, carrying a black spear and a gold shield. Takato recognized the creature as PawnChessmon. The blonde was wearing a pink blouse, black skirt that ended just above the knee, and a blue jacket. Alphamon meanwhile split into a handsome young man with black hair and glasses wearing a blue jacket like the young woman's, a white shirt with a black tie, and grey slacks, and a small dragon-like Digimon with light-blue fur and a fox-like tail. A large red gemstone adorned the Digimon's head. As the young man walked over to Takato, his Digimon quickly went over to Guilmon and the two began to sniff each other in the way dogs might.

"Takato Matsuki I presume." The young man greeted as he held out his hand to Takato. "I am Arthur Pierce, leader of Team Excalibur. I can see that my partner Dorumon is already getting to know your Digimon friend."

"Uh, nice to meet ya." Takato said as he shook Arthur's hand. "Thanks for your help earlier."

"Not at all." Arthur said graciously. "Though I was not expecting this sort of welcome when we arrived."

"Neither was I." the blonde spoke as she approached. "Care to explain what the hell we're doing in some low-rent horror movie?"

"Um, you are?" Takato asked her.

"Gwen Whitmore, a friend of Arthur's." she answered. "Now do you mind telling us what the hell's going on?"

"You could be a little more diplomatic, Guinevere." Arthur said, still with a smile on his face. Though his left eye was twitching.

"Well excuse me for being a little cranky after flying though a living hell only to wind up in a vampire filled war zone!" Gwen said sarcastically.

"Rika, who the heck are these people?" Takato asked.

At that moment, just as Kazu and the rest of Takato's friends had emerged from the sporting goods store, Imperialdarmon, HerculesKabuterimon, and Omnimon landed on the ground not too far away. Omnimon split into two much smaller Digimon. One of the Digimon was a yellow dinosaur-like creature that Takato immediately recognized as Agumon, and the other was a yellow horned reptile wearing a white wolf pelt with black stripes that Takato recognized as Gabumon. HerculesKabuterimon meanwhile shrank down into a small purple ladybug-like creature with large green eyes that Takato knew to be a Tentomon. He was finding it odd to find so many iconic Digimon together.

Imperialdramon then split apart into a small almost humanoid blue-green and white dragon with a yellow V on his forehead, who Takato knew to be Veemon, and a green caterpillar Digimon Takato recognized as Wormmon. With Imperialdramon's regression, the partners of these Digimon were revealed. And the sight of them made the jaws of Takato, Kazu, and Kenta all drop. Even Parker lowered his shades a bit to make sure he wasn't seeing things. It was an understandable reaction, for the sight before them was unbelievable.

Long before Takato and his friends began their adventures as Tamers, they only knew Digimon as characters of a popular children's franchise consisting of a card game, various video games, and an anime series. The anime was about a group of kids who were partnered with various Digimon in order to save both the human and Digital worlds. These kids became known as the Digidestined, and now five of them were standing before Takato and the others. They were much older than they appeared in the series, their early twenties. But Takato still recognized each of them.

All five were young men. One had brown hair and wore a grey sport coat, yellow shirt, and grey pants. Takato recognized him as the original leader of the Digidestined and Agumon's partner, Tai Kamiya. The second of the young men, who had wild blonde hair wore a black short-sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans, was Matt Ishida, Gabumon's partner. The third of these five also had brown hair and was a little shorter than the other two. He was a little unshaven and wore an orange t-shirt and grey jeans. Takato recognized him as Tentomon's partner and the brains of the Digidestined, Izzy Izumi.

Then there was the fourth young man, also with brown hair, who wore a blue t-shirt and tattered jeans, and was carrying a silver briefcase. This was the second leader of the Digidestined team and Veemon's partner, Davis Motomiya. The final young man and Wormmon's partner had almost shoulder-length dark hair and wore a black jacket, grey shirt, and long black pants. Takato knew him to be Ken Ichijouji, and looked deathly pale.

"You okay Ken?" Davis asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Ken said with a reassuring smile. "I just need a little rest."

"Opening those portals in the Dark Ocean must take a lot out of you." Matt noted.

Takato walked over to the group with a shocked expression. Tai and the others quickly noticed his approach.

"Uh, hi." Tai greeted. "I'm…"

"Tai." Takato finished for him. "Yeah, I know."

"I guess you probably know who we all are." Matt realized.

"What's… what's going on here?" Takato asked. "How…?"

"Takato, we'll explain everything later." Ryo cut in. "Right now it looks like we have bigger problems to deal with. Where are Henry and everyone else?"

"Huh? Oh, I've tried getting a hold of them on the phone, but no answer." Takato replied after getting back on track. "We were on our way to Hypnos when ViralBeelzemon showed up."

"Then we should go there at once." Arthur decided. "And quickly."

* * *

In an abandoned building in another part of the city, Jeri had seen the arrival of Tai and the others through the eyes of the Legion. The power of Alphamon troubled her somewhat. But the Digidestined showing up amused her greatly.

"It seems that my chance to settle an old score has come sooner than I thought." Jeri commented to herself.

* * *

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. Legion

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 6: Legion

The world had become very surreal for Takato. The city was swarming with vampires, both human and Digimon alike, but even stranger was that riding in the back of his van were five of the characters from his favorite childhood television series and their respective Digimon partners. By some miracle the group had managed to fit itself inside Takato's van. Though it was a tight squeeze and Guardromon had to ride on the roof. The mysterious young woman that had come back with Rika and Ryo, Gwen Whitmore, had insisted on sitting in the passenger seat with PawnChessmon on her lap. Takato couldn't really tell too much about Gwen due to her seemingly frosty disposition, other than that she seemed to be a part of this "Team Excalibur" that Arthur Pierce had mentioned before.

At long last they arrived at Hypnos HQ. The rear doors of the van opened and an avalanche of humans and Digimon spilled out. Gwen and PawnChessmon meanwhile simply got out and began to stroll up to the front doors of the building.

"Why the hell did you have to get the front seat?" a rather infuriated Davis asked.

"Because if I'm going to be forced to ride in some dirty beat-up van, it's going to be sitting in an actual chair and not squeezed into a corner like a sardine." Gwen said rather snobbishly.

"You're going to be the death of me, woman!" an infuriated Arthur declared as he and Dorumon caught up to them on the steps.

"Oh yeah, like this trip has been conducive to my heath." Gwen said sarcastically.

"You know you didn't have to come with me Guinevere." Arthur pointed out through gritted teeth.

"Someone had to make sure you came back from this little kamikaze mission alive." Gwen told him. "Because, well… I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"Oh… well…" Arthur spoke, lost for words.

"Will you two cut the crap out!" a frustrated Takato said almost shouting as he stormed passed. "We need to find out what's going on here."

"…Yes, of course." Arthur agreed as both he and Gwen returned to the task at hand.

Moments later the group went inside the building and found their way to the Hypnos control room.

"What's going on here?" Yamaki asked upon noticing their arrival. "Just who are these people?"

"I'm still trying to figure that part out Yamaki." Takato replied as he rubbed the back of his head. "But hey, at least Rika and Ryo are back."

"Mr. Yamaki, I am Arthur Pierce." Arthur greeted. "And believe me, we have the situation well in hand."

"Izzy, can you access their computers?" Tai asked.

"Give me a moment." Izzy replied as he began typing into the silver laptop he had brought with.

"Now just hold on! You have no authorization to access those systems!" Yamaki protested.

"Take it easy Yamaki." Rika cut in. "We a lot better off if you let these guys help."

"I'm not doing anything until someone tells me exactly what's going on!" Yamaki replied. The conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of maniacal laughter.

"I'll tell you exactly what's going on Mr. Yamaki." Said a voice over the room's sound system. "Your world is mine."

The sound of this voice made Tai, Matt, Izzy, Davis, Ken, Ryo, and their Digimon all go pale. All except for Cyberdramon that is. Takato felt that he had heard the voice somewhere before but could not place it. Like some distant memory from long ago buried by time.

"No… it can't be!" Ken spoke, his complexion making him seem like a ghost.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked. "Do you know this voice?"

Tai turned to Arthur and took a gulp. "It's Myotismon."

This time the color drained from the faces of Takato and his friends. They too knew of the evil Digimon that Tai just spoke of. Myotismon: a vampire Digimon that had ended up becoming the most powerful enemy of the Digidestined. In the first series of the Digimon T.V. show, Myotismon went on a quest to kill the eighth Digidestined child, wh ended up being Tai's younger sister Kari. Myotismon was defeated, but a few episodes later he came back in a much stronger form only to be defeated by the combined powers of Tai and Matt. But at the end of the second series, Myotismon returned yet again and was defeated by Davis and his team. And now Takato was hearing his voice.

"I'm touched that you still remember my voice after all these years." Myotismon said with a small laugh. "It simply has been too long."

"Aw man! How many times do we have to kill you? You psycho!" Davis exclaimed.

"Just how did you cheat death this time?" Ken asked.

"When you defeated me in our last encounter, my data ended up drifting over the Dark Ocean for what seemed like an eternity." Myotismon began. "I was nothing more than a disembodied spirit unable to become whole. But then one day a portal to this universe opened and my data drifted though. I somehow ended up in the deepest part of the Digital World in this reality, where I came upon the primitive computer program known as the D-Reaper."

"This sounds really bad." Rika commented.

"What's the D-Reaper?" Matt asked.

"A thing that the foolish humans of this universe created to exterminate Digimon once their population had reached a certain number." Myotismon answered for her. "But it grew out of control and sought to destroy humans and Digimon alike. All the Tamers could do to stop the D-Reaper was to regress it into a more primitive form. And I was able to absorb that form, alter it and use its power to return to life."

"Wait, you're saying that you somehow merged yourself with the D-Reaper?" a shocked Ryo asked.

"Quite right." The voice of Myotismon confirmed. "It's a part of me now, and though it I've gained unimaginable power. But simply merging with the D-Reaper wasn't enough. I was alive but incomplete. To finish my revival I needed a human host, and there was one human that the D-Reaper was already familiar with."

Fear suddenly shot through Takato like an electrical current. "You… don't mean…"

"Yes, my dear Takato." Myotismon laughed. "You precious Jeri has become my primary host."

"Let her go you sick bastard!" Takato shouted. Myotismon merely laughed at his demands.

"You have no idea how easy it was to take her over." Myotismon continued. "Because of the D-Reaper I already had a telepathic link with her. Slowly I weakened her, crushed her will until she at last relented and let me in. And it is through her that I have been able to spread myself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Davis wondered.

"I think I know." Izzy replied. "The so-called vampires we've been seeing are actually extensions of Myotismon's mind. Somehow he's been able to upload his personality into humans and other Digimon like some sort of virus."

"Very astute." Myotismon complimented. "And once I spread myself far enough I will be able to fully return and achieve my perfect form. Then I shall make the human and Digital Worlds of this universe and our own a part of me."

"We won't let that happen!" Tai declared.

"It's already too late for you to stop me." Myotismon laughed. "Much of this city is already mine." The group noticed that the vampire Digimon did not say those words alone. There were at least four other voices that had joined him.

Suddenly the group noticed that both Riley and Tally were looking down at them with red eyes and smiling. The control chairs they were sitting in were descending to the floor. The infected Janyu and Shibumi had also since entered the room.

"What is this?" a shocked Yamaki asked.

"I've been in this building for hours." Myotismon and his drones all revealed. "You didn't even notice, did you?"

"Now what do we do?" a frightened Kenta asked.

"Quick! Out the back way!" Yamaki ordered, and they all quickly ran towards a small door in the control room that led to the back alley.

"Mitsuo." Riley called, causing Yamaki to stop and turn. "You're not coming to leave me here, are you?" She began to walk towards him.

"What are you doing Yamaki?" Takato called by the door where he, Guilmon, Calumon, Parker, and Wizardmon were still waiting. "That's not Riley talking! That's Myotismon!"

Riley continued to come closer. Yamaki pulled out a gun in his coat and aimed it at her. "Don't come any closer!"

"You would shoot me? Your own wife?" Riley said with a hurt expression, looking as if she was on the verge of tears.

"I…" Yamaki said before lowing his gun.

"Fool." Riley spoke as her face twisted into a fanged grin. She bit Yamaki on the neck.

"Yamaki!" Takato called out.

"Forget it man, he's one of them now!" Parker told him as he grabbed his arm. "We have to get out of here before we're next!"

Takato gritted his teeth and went with. In moments they had joined the rest of the group in the alley.

"Let's get the hell outta here!" Tai decided. The others agreed and began to follow.

"Takato." A very familiar voice called, causing Takato to pause and turn around.

Standing before Takato was Jeri in her low-cut black mini-dress, looking more beautiful than Takato had ever seen her. What he noticed most was her eyes. He couldn't look away from those red eyes.

"You don't have to fight me Takato." Jeri said as she walked closer. "You can join with me and then we can be together. Wouldn't you like that?"

"…Yeah." Takato said mindlessly as he began to walk towards her. He found that he just couldn't resist. Suddenly Takato felt a bite on his hand that snapped him out of his trance. "Guilmon! What…?"

"Takato, that's not Jeri." Guilmon growled as he looked at the possessed Jeri with savage eyes.

Horrid reality began to sink in again and Takato realized that Guilmon was right. It was Jeri's body standing before him, but the twisted mind behind those eyes was not Jeri. It was Myotismon, using her like some sick puppeteer just as he had done with Riley.

"Well you're a perceptive one." Jeri, or rather the thing speaking through her, said to Guilmon. "I could really make good use of your power. But perhaps it would be easier if I simply destroyed you." Jeri's hand began to glow with a red light.

"Takato, Guilmon, run!" Calumon called from the other end of the alley where the others were waiting.

"Crimson Lightning!" Jeri called out as she swung whips of red light at the two.

Takato and Guilmon managed to avoid the attack and ran out of the alley at top speed. Once out, all of the Digimon except Veemon, Wormmon, and Guardromon evolved to their Mega forms and flew off. Thos who could not biomerge or fly rode on HerculesKabuterimon's back.

"Well this is just great!" Sakuyamon said very sarcastically in Rika's voice. "We survive fighting the Seven Lords only to wind up in Myotismon City!"

"So what's our next move then?" Matt wondered.

"We could go to my place for a bit." Dynasmon suggested. "Hopefully it'll be isolated from all the Myotismon clones out there."

"That's a start, but what then?" Tai asked.

"Then we figure out a way to kill Myotismon and get Jeri back!" Gallantmon declared.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The idea of bringing Myotismon back is something I had been toying with since _Home by the Sea_. I had decided that if I was going to bring him back, he'd have to be an even bigger threat than before. That's about when I had the idea to combine Myotismon with the D-Reaper, rewriting the monstrous computer program so that instead of destroying all life it would sort of "absorb it" in a way.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. King of the Undead

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 7: King of the Undead

After a twenty-minute flight, Takato and the others had reached the warehouse that Parker and Wizardmon were using as a base. As they had hoped, they did not encounter any members of the Legion. Though it seemed like only a matter of time before it spread their way. It did not take them long to settle in, and right away Izzy began tapping away on his laptop in hopes of somehow finding a solution to their current situation. But a question had been gnawing at Takato ever since the battle with ViralBeelzemon, and after what happened at Hypnos he needed answers.

"Okay, will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Takato finally shouted, getting the rest of the group's undivided attention. "How is it that characters from a T.V. show have suddenly appeared in real life? And how is it that one of them has turned Jeri and practically the whole city into monsters?"

Ryo looked at Takato and sighed. "I guess I should be the one to explain," he began. "I'm not from this world Takato."

"What, you mean you're like an alien?" Kazu cut in.

"No, I'm from a parallel version of Earth." Ryo answered. "The same Earth that Tai and his friends are from. Ken and I actually used to be neighbors. I'm still not sure how it is that the events of their lives ended up as a T.V. show in this world, but they're just as real as we are."

"So how did you wind up here?" Takato asked with a skeptical expression.

"It's… complicated." Ryo replied. "The short version is that I ended up in a sort of war with an evil Digimon called Millenniummon. One that ended up taking me through time and space. When it was all over I was given a choice, either go back to my original world or go somewhere else. I decided to come here, partly because I didn't feel like I belonged in that other world anymore."

"So what happened that caused you and Rika to disappear?" Kenta asked.

"An evil Digimon from Ryo's original world, Barbamon, captured him and Cyberdramon in the hopes of reviving Millenniummon." Renamon explained. "Rika and I went after them, and we ended up staying with them in that world to fight Barbamon and his allies, the Seven Lords."

"Alright then, so how did you guys come back here?" Takato asked.

"Through the Dark Ocean, the same way that Barbamon came here in the first place." Ken explained. "We found out during our battles with the Seven Lords that the Dark Ocean is the overlapping shadow cast by the Earth and Digital World of our universe. But the shadows of your Earth and Digital World also overlap, forming a connection. With my Black D-3 I'm able to open portals to the Dark Ocean and back. And with Izzy's help we were able to find just where we could open a portal back to your world."

"What about Myotismon then?" Takato asked.

"We honestly didn't see that coming." Matt answered. "We thought we had killed Myotismon once and for all ten years ago. None of us ever imagined that he would come to your world, revive and cause all this."

"I don't think anyone could've anticipated this occurrence." Arthur commented.

"I'm still finding this all hard to believe." Takato told them.

"I found it pretty hard to believe at first too, Goggle Head. But it's all true." Rika assured him. "Hell, if it wasn't real then we wouldn't be in the mess we're in right now."

Inwardly, Takato had to admit that what was happening was real. A part of him had hoped that all that was going on was some twisted dream. That he would wake up and everything would be normal and Jeri would still be safe. But he could deny the harsh reality of the situation no more.

"Ya know guys, this is really deep and all. But shouldn't we focus on getting rid of Myotismon?" Parker pointed out.

"He's right." Tai agreed. "Izzy, did you find anything out?"

"Before we left Hypnos I managed to copy most of their files." Izzy began. "One of the files is on the D-Reaper. It was just as Myotismon said, a simple program designed to eliminate digital life forms once their number had exceeded a certain limit. This was apparently done to keep the Digital World from becoming overloaded and crashing."

"Could that actually happen?" Davis wondered.

"At the time, the original programmers failed to anticipate that the Digital World would expand and be able to support more life." Izzy went on. "The D-Reaper went dormant, and over time evolved into a more complex life form in order to combat more complex Digimon. It eventually gained a sort of sentience and came to the conclusion that humans had to be exterminated as well."

"And then we had to fight it." Rika interjected. "What I want to know is how Myotismon was able to absorb it and do all this."

"When you and the other Tamers original D-Reaper, all you could do was revert it to its original form." Izzy pointed out. "Somehow, Myotismon's data was able to integrate itself into the program and rewrite it as a sort of computer virus, one that's able to turn other life forms into a copy of itself. These copies become part of a collective consciousness controlled by the original."

"Why'd he take Jeri?" Takato asked.

"This is only theory, but I suspect Myotismon needed your friend so that he could infect humans." Izzy assumed. "Otherwise he would only be able to infect other Digimon."

"He's already infected other Digimon, it looks like." Ken pointed out.

"Yes, he's been moving for quite some time." Izzy confirmed. "According to these files, Hypnos had been detecting disturbances in the Digital World for a little over a month. I believe that Myotismon was able to infect Digimon before taking over Jeri's body. Thus creating an army that had been working on creating a path out of the Digital World."

"This is all fascinating," Gwen said rather sarcastically, "but just how are we supposed to stop Myotismon?"

"Izzy, could we beat Myotismon the same way the Tamers beat the D-Reaper ten years ago?" Tai suggested.

"You mean regressing him back to a more primitive state?" Izzy asked. "I suppose it's possible if I alter the original program they used."

"That will not work." Wizardmon argued. "Simply regressing the creature will not put an end to the threat it poses. As long as it exists, it can still cause terror."

"He's right." Arthur agreed. "This new Myotismon seems able to evolve at a faster rate than the original D-Reaper. Plus it does not solve the problem of how to free Ms. Jeri and all of Myotismon's other victims."

"Then just what the hell are we supposed to do?" Davis asked.

"Easy. We have Takato use the Sword of Yggdrasill." Parker answered.

"Here we go with this again!" an exasperated Takato exclaimed.

"What is this sword you speak of?" an intrigued Arthur asked.

"Long ago, Yggdrasill came to my plain of the Digital World and left a shard of itself behind. Which my people had forged into a sword." Wizardmon explained. "With all that has happened, I am sure now that Yggdrasill left the shard so we could destroy the D-Reaper, or perhaps even this threat."

"I still don't buy this story of yours about a sword." Takato told Parker. "I haven't even seen this thing."

"Well duh. Wizardmon and I were going to show it to you and then all this happened." Parker explained. "Wizardmon's been keeping it hidden in a pocket dimension until the right time. Which, by the way, seems to have come."

"It is time to put your mistrust aside, Takato." Wizardmon spoke. "For the sword may be the only chance you have of saving Jeri."

* * *

Jeri was standing out in front of Tokyo Tower. All around her on the ground and in the air were wild Digimon that had been infected by Myotismon. The thing inside Jeri that was Myotismon was waiting, and he did not have to wait long. Everything had been going perfectly for him. The moment he finished assimilating the D-Reaper and emerged in the Digital World as a larva he infected his first Digimon with a single bite. As soon as that helpless Digimon changed into an extension of himself he became stronger. The infection spread throughout the Digital World and soon he not only had an army, but had also become strong enough to come to the human world and take Jeri as a host. And now the moment was coming when he could break loose and take on his supreme form. Only a few more people left to infect.

Suddenly Jeri fell to her knees and she began to hold her sides. Her face twisted into an inhuman grin.

"At last it is time!" she said in Myotismon's voice.

Jeri cried out and glowed with a bright red light that washed out all features. Suddenly all the surrounding Digimon broke down into particles of data and were sucked into the light.

* * *

Back at the warehouse, Kazu and Kenta were fiddling with Parker's small T.V. as Takato and the others were still debating what to do about Myotismon. They changed the channel to a news program that was running outside the city. The reporter on screen was talking about how the military had sealed off Tokyo to prevent the spread of the unidentified illness when the sight of Digimon breaking apart and being sucked downward in the form of data appeared in the background.

"Uh, guys?" Kazu called out. "I think you better come over here and see this." The rest of the group came and huddled around the small set.

"What's going on?" Tai asked as he watched the action unfolding on screen.

"Oh no! I should've anticipated this." Izzy spoke. "Back at Hypnos, Myotismon said something about achieving his perfect form. I think he's doing that by absorbing the data of other Digimon he's infected."

"What's happening to Jeri then?" a very worried Takato asked.

"I wish I knew." Izzy said gravely.

* * *

Back at the site of the horror, the red mass that was once Jeri and the infected Digimon formed into three long thin double-jointed legs that met at the top like a tripod. From the front of this tripod grew two long thin arms with large clawed hands and a sort of head-like mass with a single yellow vertical eye. A long cable-like tail sprouted from the back of the tripod and grew a head with a jagged mouth and six beady yellow eyes arranged in two columns. A stalk grew from the top of the tripod and grew thicker at the top, becoming an upper torso. The golden mask of the Mother D-Reaper appeared on the front of this torso, and from the back sprouted a pair of large membranous wings. Shoulders formed in the shape of heads similar to the one at the end of the tail, and from them extended long arms that ended in large clawed hands.

From the top of the thing formed the head, the red mass receding somewhat to reveal chalk-white skin around a fanged mouth. Yellow eyes formed from the red mask that covered the top half of its face and ended in bat-like wings. Long wild blonde hair then grew from this head, and the creature's development was complete. It stood at fifty feet tall and let out a maniacal laugh.

"At last my rebirth is complete!" the creature proclaimed. "Tremble now before ViralMyotismon!"

* * *

Back at the warehouse, most of the group continued to watch the action unfold on T.V. Izzy meanwhile was busy again at his laptop.

"There. I've hacked into the city's surveillance systems." Izzy told the others. "Now we should be able to get a better look at Myotismon's new form."

The group gathered around as a larger image of ViralMyotismon appeared on the screen of Izzy's laptop. The camera panned upward and then Takato spotted something.

"Wait! Izzy, can you zoom in on that spot below the D-Reaper mask?" Takato requested.

"I'll try. Hold on." Izzy said with a few keystrokes.

The camera image went in closer to the spot under the mask of the Mother D-Reaper. When the pixels had finished rendering, Takato and the others saw embedded in that spot below the mask a very familiar young woman. It was Jeri, or at least her head and upper torso. Her eyes were closed as if asleep or dead. Her hair was still brown but her skin had become a pale blue. She was naked but the nipples of her breast seemed to had disappeared.

"Oh my god." Takato spoke with a look of absolute horror.

"What's happened to Jeri?" a worried Rika asked.

"It seems that Jeri has become integrated into ViralMyotismon's body." Izzy theorized.

"How the hell do we get Jeri out?" Takato demanded to know.

"I truly wish I knew." Izzy said gravely. "But trying to do so, or destroying ViralMyotismon just might kill her."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I have a few of my own rules when it comes to writing fanfics. A sort of personal code if you will. One rule I have when it comes to Digimon stories is that I don't make up Digimon. The reason being is that there's already a good variety to choose from. But there are exceptions to every rule, and this story's one of them. Going into this I decided that the only way to show Myotismon's increased power was to make up a new form for him, one that integrated the D-Reaper as well. But ViralMyotismon isn't the only Digimon I made up for this story (I mean there's also ViralBeelzemon, but there are a few others too).

Please review and let me know what you think.


	8. The Royal Knights

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Royal Knights

ViralMyotismon began to lumber through the city, his massive wings clumsily destroying the tops of buildings that were in his way. He didn't care though. The city was as good as his and he could do however he pleased with it. Most of the lives that were in the city had become a part of him, but their destruction was meaningless. He felt no pain from their loss and he could replace them as easily as a human could re-grow a hair or a fingernail. He was infinite and nothing could destroy him or hold him back. Suddenly the vampire Digimon noticed several military helicopters flying towards him. He bared his fangs in a hideous grin. The mouths on the heads that made up his shoulders began to open.

"Darkness Omega!" ViralMyotismon cried as beams of black energy fired from the mouths of his shoulders and from the mask on his chest. The helicopters were obliterated by the blast.

He continued onward, and through the eyes on the head on his waist and tail he saw tanks rolling towards him from all roads around him. The tanks aimed their cannons and fired but the blast did no damage at all. They might as well have been throwing confetti. The palms on all four of his hands opened to reveal a pair of mouths. The mouths opened, as did the one on his tail, and projected out a red mass that enveloped all of the tanks. He pulled the mass back into himself like a frog retracting his tongue and the tanks were all gone.

"It is useless to oppose me." ViralMyotismon gloated as he continued his march of destruction. "Those who do may either join with me or die."

* * *

Back at the bay Takato stood outside of the warehouse alone. He needed to get out. He needed to get away from everyone for a moment and try to put the current situation out of his mind. For it was too horrible the think about. The way things had turned out it seemed like there was no chance of saving Jeri. There was a strong chance that trying to remove Jeri from ViralMyotismon would kill. At one point Izzy had earlier theorized that Jeri was acting as a sort of core component that was holding ViralMyotismon together, and that killing her might cause him to fall apart. That was when Takato felt he needed to leave the room. The idea of killing Jeri in order to destroy ViralMyotismon was just far too much for him to take.

"It'd be a lovely night if it weren't for the monster that's currently destroying the city." A voice commented from behind, stirring Takato from his thoughts. Takato turned and saw that it was Arthur. "Care to rejoin us?"

"Yeah, sorry." Takato replied. "I just needed a break, that's all."

"Understandable." Arthur said as he walked up to stand next to him. "I would probably need a moment away from it all as well if I were in your place."

"Hey, mind if I ask you something?" Takato inquired in attempt to change the subject. "Is Gwen like your girlfriend or something?"

"Actually she is." Arthur confirmed with a small chuckle.

"No offence, but that seems a little weird." Takato commented. "I mean it seems like you two can't stand to be in the same room with one another, and yet…"

"I know. Paradoxical, isn't it?" Arthur replied before he could finish his thought. "But I suppose it is our way. There's every chance that that woman will either drive me to an early grave or an insane asylum, yet I cannot picture my life without her. And I would do anything to protect her from harm. It's complicated, but then when is love ever simple?"

"I just wish there was something I could do to save Jeri." Takato said sadly.

"You know the main reason why I came out to get you is because we have a plan to both save Ms. Jeri and put an end to this nightmare." Arthur revealed.

"How?" Takato asked.

"It's a bit of a gamble, but I have faith that it will succeed." Arthur replied. "It involves you wielding the Sword of Yggdrasill."

"How is using some old sword going to help save Jeri?" Takato asked with a rather frustrated expression.

"While you've been out, Wizardmon has been telling us a little more about the power of this sword." Arthur began. "It's all theoretical, but Izzy believes that the sword can eradicate the D-Reaper's data, destroying Myotismon and freeing Jeri and all those he infected."

"But you're not sure though." Takato noted.

"As I said, it's all theoretical." Arthur replied. "But I'm still confident it will work. Mainly because of your desire to save Jeri."

"You really believe in me that much?" Takato asked.

"Rika told me about when you and Guilmon rescued Jeri when she was held prisoner by the original D-Reaper." Arthur revealed. "I'm confident that you and only you are the person who can save her a second time."

"But it's still not much to go on." Takato retorted.

"Sometimes hope and faith are the only things a person has to go on." Arthur pointed out. "But you my friend I believe have the will to see it all through. So take a chance and believe in yourself."

"…Okay." Takato finally agreed after a moment. "If there really is a chance to save Jeri, I'll take it!"

"Excellent! Then let's get to it, shall we?" Arthur suggested. In moments the two were back inside the warehouse.

"It looks like the military's backed off for now." Ken reported as they entered.

"Izzy, what are the chances of ViralMyotismon calling in more air support?" Arthur inquired.

"Considering the amount of Digimon he probably infected while in the Digital World, quite good." Izzy theorized.

"Then this is what we'll do. Takato, Mr. Nash, Tai, Matt, Davis, and myself will take on ViralMyotismon." Arthur decided. "Meanwhile, HerculesKabuterimon, QueenChessmon, Justimon, and Sakuyamon will provide air and ground support."

"Hold on Arthur." Ken interrupted. "I don't think I have it in me to help call Imperialdramon right now. I'm still wiped out from opening that last portal in the Dark Ocean."

"I'm well aware of that. Which is why Davis and Veemon have an alternate mode of combat." Arthur revealed.

"We do?" Davis and Veemon asked together with quirked brows.

"Didn't you wonder why Old Genni had me give you that case before we left?" Arthur pointed out.

"Oh yeah." Davis said after remembering the silver briefcase that he had with him.

Setting the case on the ground, Davis opened it up. A gold ball of light shot up out of the case and took the form of a strange golden object.

"The Digi Egg of Miracles." Ken identified.

"Old Genni and Azulongmon thought that something like this might happen when we arrived in this world. Which is why they had me give you that egg." Arthur explained. "Magnamon may not have the raw power that Imperialdramon has, but his power is the equivalent of a Mega level Digimon."

"Okay then! Ready Veemon?" Davis asked after taking the egg in hand.

"You bet!" Veemon said enthusiastically.

Davis' D-3 began to glow with a golden light. The egg turned back into a ball of light and flew out of his hand. The ball hit Veemon and caused the little dragon to begin to change.

"Veemon armor digivolve to… Magnamon, the Radiance of Miracles!" Veemon cried out as he transformed, his voice changing with the utterance of his other name and title.

With the transformation finished, Veemon had become a taller more humanoid version of himself. His face, upper torso, wrists, and feet were covered in shining gold armor. Adorning his shoulders were large golden shoulder pads.

"I guess we should gear up too." Matt said to Tai.

"Looks like it." Tai agreed.

"We're ready whenever you guys are." Agumon told them.

With that, Tai and Matt's Digivices reacted and Agumon and Gabumon changed into respective balls of orange and blue light. The two balls of light rose up and the transformation began.

"…Warp DNA digivolve to… Omnimon!" the voices of the two Digimon cried as they became one. In moments Omnimon had fully formed.

"Let's do it, Wiz." Parker said to Wizardmon.

"Agreed." The Digimon magician said with a nod. Parker's D-Arc reacted.

"BIOMERGE"

Parker changed into a ball of purplish light and entered Wizardmon.

"Wizardmon biomerge digivolve to… Dynasmon!" Wizardmon called as he changed into the dragon knight.

"Guilmon?" Takato called.

"Ready!" Guilmon said enthusiastically. Takato's D-Arc responded.

"BIOMERGE"

Takato turned into a ball of red light and went into Guilmon.

"Guilmon biomerge digivolve to… Gallantmon!" Guilmon cried out as he transformed into the lance-wielding knight.

"Let's go Dorumon." Arthur said as he pushed up his glasses. The little dragon barked in agreement and Arthur's D-3 activated.

"BIOMERGE"

Turning into a ball of white light, Arthur entered the gemstone on Dorumon's forehead.

"Dorumon biomerge digivolve to… Alphamon!" Dorumon cried out as he changed and became the ancient knight.

"Wow, five knights." Rika commented as she looked at the fully evolved Digimon. "This is kinda cool."

"The similarities between them are interesting." Izzy noted.

"Gallantmon, before we leave I must give you the sword." Dynasmon spoke as he brought up his hand. A ball of white appeared above it and floated into Gallantmon's left shoulder plate. "You need do to draw it is reach for that spot on your armor."

"How do I use the thing?" Gallantmon asked.

"When the time comes, you will know." Dynasmon said cryptically.

"We should be off now." Alphamon said to them. "Every moment longer we stay here, ViralMyotismon causes more damage."

"Wormmon and I will stay here since we're not able to help in the fight." Ken informed him.

"Right, and Kenta, Guardromon, and I will stay with them for, uh… protection." Kazu added.

"Very well." Alphamon agreed before he and the others began to walk out of the warehouse.

"Gallantmon, wait!" Calumon called, causing the knight to stop and turn. "I'm going with you."

"Calumon, this battle is way too dangerous." Gallantmon told him. "It's better if you stay here with Ken and the others."

"No, I'm going with!" Calumon insisted. "I probably care about Jeri almost as much as you do. I don't what I can do to help, but I'm not just going to sit here and wait."

"Okay, fine." Gallantmon relented with a sigh. "But you stick close, okay?"

"You got it!" Calumon said as he flew up onto Gallantmon's shoulder.

* * *

ViralMyotismon continued his march though the city. He stopped when an icy cannon blast hit him in the left shoulder. He turned his head and standing atop one of the buildings was Alphamon, with Gallantmon and Dynasmon to his left and Omnimon and Magnamon to his right.

"So, you've finally come to oppose me." ViralMyotismon said with a hideous grin.

"Foul creature of the Digital World! We, the Royal Knights, shall put an end to thee!" Alphamon proclaimed.

* * *

The final battle is coming up next chapter. And Calumon is going to play an important role, so stay tuned.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	9. Glory of Love

**Author's Note:** Those of you reading who're familiar with my other works have probably noticed that I sometimes like to use songs for the titles of my chapters. Almost every chapter of _Home by the Sea_ was named after a Phil Collins or Genesis song. This chapter is named after the song, _The Glory of Love_, done by Peter Cetera for the movie, _Karate Kid Part II_. Around the time I first heard that song I think the final episodes of the Tamers anime had aired, and I ended up associating the song with Gallantmon/Takato. Sort of like his/their theme song. So that's why this chapter has the title it does. Also, expect to see some major Gurren Lagann references in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 9: "Glory of Love"

"Do you truly think that you five alone can oppose me?" ViralMyotismon said to the five Digimon knights that stood defiantly before him on the nearby rooftop. "I am an army unto myself."

"Numbers alone don't always decide a battle." Alphamon retorted. "Our will is strong and our cause is just. You cannot win."

"We shall see." ViralMyotismon replied.

Suddenly the sky above rippled and was quickly filled with swarms of infected Digimon. Many of them were more Parrotmon and Airdramon. Almost as soon as they appeared, HerculesKabuterimon flew into the sky with Izzy on his back and fired a large blast of purple electricity at some of the swarm. Sakuyamon, Justimon, and QueenChessmon followed close behind and added their own attacks.

"As you can see, ViralMyotismon, we are not alone in this fight." Alphamon pointed out.

"It is still only nine against an army." ViralMyotismon scoffed. "How long do you think that nine of you can continue to fight against such numbers?"

"We don't need to take out your whole army." Dynasmon retorted. "Just you. That's why the five of us are here."

"Ah, so that's your plan." ViralMyotismon laughed. "In that case I have something to occupy at least a few of you."

Suddenly a blast of red light came down from above and would've hit Alphamon had he not jumped back at the last second. They five knights and Calumon looked up to see ViralBeelzemon hovering above them.

"It will take more than one warrior to occupy us foul one." Alphamon told him. "Even if it is Beelzemon."

"True, which is why he is not my only enforcer." ViralBeelzemon spoke.

Flying up next to ViralBeelzemon on his right was a large humanoid machine with white armor. On the sides of its head were long fin-like ears in the shape of bat-like wings. Its red face was like that of a dog with yellow eyes and fangs protruding from its lower jaws. Its arms were like those of MaloMyotismon.

"May I present, ViralGargomon." The machine Digimon spoke.

"He got to Henry and Terriermon!" Calumon exclaimed.

"They're not the only ones." ViralGargomon added.

Flying up on ViralBeelzemon's left was a large hideous rabbit-like monster with long tattered ears covered in dark-brown fur. Its arms were long and thin and covered in red exoskeleton, ending in large red claws. On its back were tattered bat-like wings, and around its neck a large collar like one might find on the suit of a clown.

"This is my third enforcer, ViralCherubimon." The rabbit spoke. "I couldn't resist getting the matching set."

"Now what?" Omnimon wondered.

"Omnimon, you take care of ViralGargomon." Alphamon ordered. "While you, Magnamon, attack ViralCherubimon."

"Oh sure, give me the ugly one." Magnamon said sarcastically.

"I will handle ViralBeelzemon." Alphamon decided. "Gallantmon, you, Dynasmon, and Calumon will continue the plan and take out ViralMyotismon."

"Got it." Gallantmon agreed.

"The time for strategizing is over." ViralGargomon said as the living three-eyed cannon on his right shoulder opened its mouth. "Screaming Darkness!"

A ball of black energy fired from the cannon at the knights. They scattered before the attack hit. Alphamon flew at ViralBeelzemon with a sword of white light, which the demon lord blocked with his blaster. Magnamon meanwhile fired a barrage of missiles from his armor at ViralCherubimon while Omnimon his ViralGargomon with a cannon blast. This left Gallantmon flying towards ViralMyotismon with Dynasmon, all the while Calumon was hanging onto the end of Gallantmon's cape.

* * *

On the top floor of the building the knights were previously standing on, Tai, Matt, and Davis were all watching the battle from one of the windows. All they could really do at that moment was watch and give their Digimon companions support.

"Aw man, this doesn't look good." Davis commented.

"It looks like those three Digimon have parts from Myotismon's other forms." Matt noted. "Which means they probably have some of his power too."

"Don't worry, I'm sure they can beat them." Tai assured them. "Or at least hold them off. In the end it's all up to Takato."

* * *

Back outside, Gallantmon and Dynasmon flew in low close to the great vampire. The knights barely managed to avoid getting swatted away by ViralMyotismon's claws.

"You keep ViralMyotismon distracted while Calumon and I try to get though to Jeri." Gallantmon ordered.

"If that is what you think is best." Dynasmon agreed before flying off between ViralMyotismon's three spindly legs.

As Dynasmon flew he fired red energy blasts from his palms. The dragon knight continued to attack from behind as he flew out while Gallantmon flew up from the front. Not far away, Alphamon and the other two knights continued their battle with ViralMyotismon's enforcers.

"It would be so much easier on you if you just gave in and joined with me." ViralBeelzemon commented as he fired a crimson blast at Alphamon. Alphamon quickly dodged the attack.

"Better to die than to give in to evil." Alphamon retorted.

"What I am doing is not evil." ViralCherubimon argued as he threw a spear of red lightning at Magnamon. "In fact this is the greatest act of good I can perform. By absorbing everyone into myself I am putting an end to all war and conflict. All humans and Digimon will finally be united as one within me."

"All you offer is nothingness!" Magnamon argued after firing off another missile barrage. "Those you absorb are no longer themselves. They lose their personalities, their individuality. What sort of life is that?"

Omnimon slashed at ViralGargomon with a sword extended from his WarGreymon arm. "You're not giving these people you're 'helping' a choice in the matter. Justify it all you like. All of this is just a plan for world conquest!"

"I don't have to justify myself to you." ViralGargomon said before letting loose another blast from his shoulder cannons.

Meanwhile as Dynasmon continued distracting ViralMyotismon's main head, Gallantmon and Calumon finally reached the sleeping form of Jeri that was sticking out of his chest. She almost looked like some angelic statue that was carved into a horrid cyclopean monument of the damned.

"Jeri? Jeri can you hear me?" Gallantmon called in Takato's voice. "Jeri!"

"Ta… ka… to?" Jeri spoke weakly, her eyes not even opening.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of there." Gallantmon assured her.

"Why bother?" Jeri asked, almost a whisper. "I know you don't to waste your time with someone as pathetic as me."

"What? Jeri, that's just not true!" Gallantmon told her. At that moment a large eye opened up right above Jeri's head.

"I knew you would try to mount a rescue." ViralMyotismon spoke with a small laugh. "Did you really think you could do so without my notice? Not that it matters though. I've broken the girl's will. It is useless to try and remove her."

"Shut up!" Gallantmon snapped at him before turning his attention back to Jeri. "Jeri, you're not pathetic! You're one of the strongest people I know."

"Even if that's true, even if I believed you, we can't fight Myotismon." Jeri said weakly. "He's far too powerful."

"No he's not!" Gallantmon declared. "And I'm going to stop him right now!"

Gallantmon's lance disappeared to reveal his armored hand. He reached and touched his left shoulder plate and pulled out a sword of white light. The light faded to reveal an old rusted grey sword with writing in the language of the Digital World engraved in the blade. On the front of the crossguard was the Zero Unit symbol, the same symbol that adorned Calumon's forehead. Gallantmon swung the sword at a section of Myotismon flesh near Jeri, but the blade only bounced off as if it had struck some sort of gel.

"What?" a surprised Gallantmon exclaimed.

"Pathetic." ViralMyotismon said as his newly formed eye fired a red blast at Gallantmon, knocking him out of the air and causing him to drop the sword. Calumon quickly flew off his cape and managed to catch the sword with his tiny hands. "To think you thought to oppose me with an old rusted sword."

"Let Jeri go now!" Calumon demanded as he managed to lift the sword. "And everyone else you infected!"

"_You're_ going to try fighting me now?" ViralMyotismon laughed. "You can't even hold up that pathetic excuse for a sword without almost falling out of the sky."

"I may not be very strong when it comes to fighting, but I'll risk my life to save Jeri!" Calumon told him.

"Calumon, don't!" Jeri managed to cry out.

"It would be useless to absorb a creature like you. Die!" ViralMyotismon said before firing another blast. At the last minute Gallantmon flew back up and intercepted the attack with his shield. "So you're still alive, eh?"

"We're not giving up until we save Jeri!" Gallantmon said as he grabbed onto the sword and held it with Calumon.

"Takato, Calumon, please stop." Jeri begged. "I don't… want you to die trying to save me. I'm not worth it."

"Don't be silly Jeri, you're more than worth it." Calumon told her. "Even if you don't care about yourself, we care about you very much."

"That's right, and will risk anything to save you." Gallantmon added, still in Takato's voice. "And we still believe in you even if you don't. And we won't give up."

"Enough of this! Die!" an impatient ViralMyotismon shouted as he fired another blast. Gallantmon and Calumon instinctively used the sword to deflect the attack, and as they did the sword ignited into green flames. "What?"

Suddenly the flaming sword exploded and green flames went into the Zero Unit on Calumon's forehead and the Digital Hazard symbol on Gallantmon's chest. The two Digimon ignited into balls of green fire and shot up into the air.

"…DNA digivolve to… BurningGallantmon!" the two cried out.

The larger ball of flames that was originally Gallantmon became a humanoid body without a head, clad in red armor similar to the armor of his previous form. Only the chest armor was styled after Guilmon's face. On the chest was a black panel in the shape of pointed sunglasses that covered the spot where Guilmon's eyes might be on the armored likeness. The ball that was Calumon changed into a head covered by a red helmet. The plate over the nose and mouth was silver and over the eyes was a pair of pointed rimmed sunglasses. Along the sides on the top were gold ridges that looked similar to Calumon's ears in their retracted state. The neck on this head ended in a large drill bit.

The head slammed down onto the body and connected. Upon connection a long plume of green fire ignited from the top of the head and became like a feather. The Zero Unit blazed on the newly formed Digimon's forehead in green light while the Digital Hazard appeared on the chest panel in the same light. Green fire ignited on his shoulder plates like torches. In another burst of fire, a cape deployed from the Digimon's back. The top half of the cape was black while the lower half was red and divided in a flame pattern. A red and black version of Gallantmon's shield with a glowing green Zero Unit on front appeared on the Digimon's left arm, while a lance made from a long drill bit appeared on his right arm. All around the fighting paused and all looked at the newly formed BurningGallantmon.

"What is this?" ViralMyotismon said with a quirked brow.

"This ends now!" BurningGallantmon declared.

"I couldn't agree more." The vampire Digimon said as the mouths on his shoulders opened and black energy began to form in their jaws. "Darkness Omega!"

"Spiral Shield!" BurningGallantmon cried as he raised his shield.

Just as the black blast was released, a spinning barrier of green light expanded out from the outer rim of the shield and blocked the attack. After a minute the attack ended and the barrier vanished.

"What?" an outraged ViralMyotismon exclaimed.

"Hazard Flare!" the knight cried as he fired a blast of green flames from his chest panel. The blaze hit ViralMyotismon in the face, causing him to roar with pain.

"Whoa! That's a lot of power." Magnamon commented.

"It is the power of Yggdrasill." Alphamon told him.

Suddenly ViralBeelzemon broke away from the other two enforcers and flew at BurningGallantmon.

"Die!" the demon lord shouted as he fired his blaster at the knight.

BurningGallantmon swiftly avoided the blasts and swooped in close, impaling ViralBeelzemon through the stomach with his lance. The demon lord turned into green flames and was sucked into the lance. ViralGargomon then came at the knight firing his cannons. The knight evaded the blasts, and after getting in close stabbed the machine Digimon with his lance, turning him into green flames and sucking him in. Next ViralCherubimon attacked with a spear of red lighting. BurningGallantmon easily avoided the attack, and then came at the demon rabbit from behind. With a strike of his drill lance, ViralCherubimon turned to green flames and was sucked in.

"Xross!" BurningGallantmon cried out. His cape vanished and was replaced by Beelzemon's normal black-feathered wings. His lance changed into Beelzemon's blaster. The knight's shoulders transformed into MegaGargomon's shoulder launchers and Cherubimon's long ears grew from his head. "BurningGallantmon Blitz Mode!"

"What is this?" ViralMyotismon demanded to know.

"I've taken back my friends! And now I'm going to take Jeri back too!" BurningGallantmon declared. "Corona Destroyer!"

Using Beelzemon's blaster, BurningGallantmon drew a magic circle of green light and fired it at ViralMyotismon. The vampire Digimon was hit again in the face of his main head, causing him to roar and stumble back a few steps. Angered, ViralMyotismon recovered and spewed out a swarm of red bats from his mouth.

"Storm of Judgment!" BurningGallantmon called out in an echoing voice.

Bolts of lightning rained down from the sky and not only took out the swarms of bats, but also hit ViralMyotismon as well of a few of the infected Digimon filling the sky. Before the vampire Digimon king could recover from the assault, BurningGallantmon fired the missiles from his shoulders. At the moment the missiles impacted, BurningGallantmon took off back to the building that Davis, Matt, and Tai were in and stopped over the roof.

"Xross disengage!" the knight called out.

BurningGallantmon returned to his original form and a beam of green light shot from his chest. Henry, Terriermon, Suzie, Lopmon, and Impmon all appeared from the beam, lying unconscious on the roof. Tai, Matt, and Davis arrived on the roof a second after the five appeared.

"Take care of them." BurningGallantmon said to Tai and the other two before flying back into battle.

"What the hell was that?" Davis wondered.

"We can worry about that later." Matt replied. "Right now we should look after Takato's friends."

Back at the battle, BurningGallantmon appeared back before ViralMyotismon. The undead king looked at the crimson knight with an expression of utter hatred.

"I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully!" ViralMyotismon declared.

"You won't get the chance!" BurningGallantmon shot back.

"Don't underestimate me! I have only yet to begin showing the full extent of my powers!" ViralMyotismon boasted. "Now DIE!"

Suddenly the vampire Digimon cringed and cried out in pain. BurningGallantmon looked and noticed that Jeri's form was glowing with a golden light.

"What are you doing you pathetic girl?" a rage filled ViralMyotismon spat.

"I… won't let you… hurt Takato… or anyone else!" Jeri declared as her eyes opened a crack. "I may not be worth saving… but I'll do what I can… to help stop you!"

"Your only purpose now is to sleep and serve as my core unit!" ViralMyotismon told her. "Do not interfere!"

"Takato… kill him now!" Jeri begged. "Even if… it means my death… you have to stop him!"

"Jeri…" BurningGallantmon spoke with a hint of shock.

"I know you… probably don't… feel the same way anymore Takato." Jeri went on. "But before I go… I… want you to know that… I love you."

"I… love you too Jeri." BurningGallantmon said in Takato's voice. "And that's all the more reason why I won't give up."

Suddenly the crimson knight noticed a glowing square of light on a spot just below Jeri. He focused on that spot and began to saw what it was.

_'Jeri's D-Arc.'_ The knight realized. _'That's what's holding him together!'_

BurningGallantmon cried out and the flames coming from his body began to burn with greater intensity. The symbols of the Zero Unit and Digital Hazard shined brighter and a pair of green glowing eyes began to burn behind his sunglasses. The drill that made up the knight's lance began to spin and green fire began to roar from the other end of the lance like a rocket engine.

"Burning… Spiral… Joust!" BurningGallantmon cried out as he zoomed towards ViralMyotismon at top speed.

The drill lance impacted the square of light below Jeri. Cracks of green flames began to spread all over ViralMyotismon's body as he roared in pain. In seconds the undead king exploded in a blinding flash of white light that enveloped the whole city. The light faded after a few moments and the night sky above was once again clear and calm. All throughout the city, the humans who had been infected had returned became normal again but were all out cold. On the ground below where ViralMyotismon once stood were several unconscious In-Training Digimon.

Meanwhile in the sky, those who had been fighting the battle all gathered around a fading white light that soon became BurningGallantmon. His drill lance and shield had disappeared and in his arms he held an unconscious Jeri wrapped in his cape.

"Is Jeri okay?" Sakyuamon asked in a worried tone.

"She's fine." BurningGallantmon assured them. "I'm going to take her home now."

"We will handle things here." Alphamon told him.

BurningGallantmon nodded and zoomed off. Only a few minutes later he had arrived at Jeri's apartment. The crimson knight entered through the window and carried Jeri to her room. After gently setting her down on the bed and covering her with the blanket, his cape disappeared and BurningGallantmon split back into Takato, Guilmon, and Calumon. Right above Jeri hovered a small ball of white light.

"What just happened?" Takato wondered. "It's like we all merged into one being."

"Look." Calumon said pointing up to the ball of light.

In moments the light changed into a D-Arc made of a shining white metal. The screen was in the shape of an inverted triangle with three smaller blinking triangles around it on the black circular frame of the screen. The device floated down and settled on Jeri's chest. The Zero Unit glowed briefly through the blanket on the back of her right hand and the screen of the D-Arc flashed red in time with the red triangle on Calumon's forehead.

"What's this mean?" Calumon asked.

"I think that maybe… it means you're Jeri's new partner." Takato theorized. "Of course I don't know that for sure."

"You look tired Takato." Guilmon observed.

"I feel tired buddy." The Tamer confirmed. "I could really use some sleep right now."

"You go rest Takato. I'll keep an eye on Jeri." Calumon assured him.

"Thanks little guys." Takato said with a yawn.

Noticing a green chair in the corner of the room, Takato walked over and slumped into it. Guilmon walked over and curled up next to the chair as his partner fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Since I had made up a Digimon for this story to act as the villain, it only seemed right to have another Digimon of my own creation to be the one to take him out. Thus the idea of BurningGallantmon was formed. Some of you reading may have noticed that he had a heavy _Gurren Lagann_ motif. The reason is because during the conception I imagined Gallantmon's lance as a drill and it all just sorta clicked. Having Calumon as part of the evolution was a more recent idea.

You might've also noticed that BurningGallantmon performed a Digi-Xross during the battle. I actually hate myself a little for doing that because I'm not a huge fan of _Xross Wars/Fusion_. I don't like how they tried reinventing some of the Digimon. But I ran with it anyway for some reason. It just seemed to work.

Well the final battle with Myotismon is over, but the story itself isn't. We have one more chapter left for the wrap-up, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	10. After the Nightmare

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon.

* * *

Chapter 10: After the Nightmare

Slowly Jeri awoke to find herself in her room. She quickly recognized the ceiling. Her head was pounding and she felt a little sick to her stomach. Slowly Jeri attempted to sit up. Calumon was asleep on the foot of her bed, lying on his back. Rika was sitting in the chair across the room wearing black jeans and a purple t-shirt with a lavender heart on the front. She was reading a magazine of some sort, though Jeri could not tell what kind. Renamon meanwhile was leaning against the wall next to the chair with her arms crossed. The fox Digimon's eyes were closed, which Jeri assumed meant she was asleep. Rika glanced up from her magazine and noticed that Jeri was awake.

"Oh hey. Welcome back." Rika greeted as she closed her reading material. Renamon opened her eyes. "You had all of us worried, you've been out for a week."

"Is that really you Rika?" Jeri asked a bit weakly, recalling that Rika had been missing before.

"Yep. And before you ask where I've been, it's a long story." Rika replied. "I'll tell you about it later. How're you feeling?"

"Kinda sick, but okay otherwise I guess." Jeri answered.

"Do you… remember anything about what happened?" Rika asked hesitantly.

"Not really." Jeri said as she tried to recall what occurred while she was taken over by Myotismon. "I think I can remember pieces, but… it's all a blur. Like some kind of wild dream."

"You shouldn't dwell on it too much." Renamon spoke.

"Renamon's right." Rika agreed. "What matters is that Myotismon's dead now and everything's back to the way it was."

"I do remember Takato fighting to try and save me." Jeri said after thinking about it just a bit more. "Though I don't know why he bothered. Especially now that you're back."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rika asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I saw you and him at Suzie's birthday party last month." Jeri revealed. "You were all over each other."

"Whoa! Back up!" Rika said as she shot up from the chair. "First of all, I'm in no way interested in Takato. He's an okay guy and all that, but not my type. Besides, Ryo and I are a thing now. Second of all, you don't know what happened that night. I had to get out of the room because Kazu and Kenta were driving me nuts. After a while Takato walks out, trips on a crack on the sidewalk, and then the next thing I know he's on top of me."

"So… it was all an accident?" Jeri asked looking very surprised.

"Rika is speaking the truth." Renamon confirmed. "I saw the whole thing with my own eyes. Guilmon saw it happen as well."

"Oh god! Rika I'm so sorry I ever…" Jeri said on the verge of tears.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Rika assured her as she went over to her side. "Of course I'm surprised that you thought that there was even something between me and Takato."

"Well… the truth is that sometimes I just feel so inferior when I'm around you." Jeri admitted. "You're so much stronger than I am Rika."

"Hey, you're pretty strong yourself. During that last battle you held back ViralMyotismon so Takato could finish him off." Rika pointed out. "Have more faith in yourself Jeri. You're strong in your own way."

"Maybe you're right." Jeri said as she vaguely remembered the final battle with the vampire Digimon. "The worst part of this though is that I've been mad at Takato for nothing."

"Don't sweat it. I'm sure he's gotten over it." Rika assured her. "He did fight hard to save you after all."

"Where is Takato?" Jeri asked.

"Oh, well he told me that he had a lot of stuff he had to do today, which is why Renamon and I are over here looking after you." Rika explained. "But don't worry, I'm sure he'll be by soon." Suddenly there came a knock on the door from the outer room of the apartment. "I hope you're up for some more company. There are some people I'd like you to meet."

"Yeah, okay." Jeri agreed.

* * *

The following morning of the next day, Jeri felt well enough to travel out to the living room. Calumon was with her on the couch as they watched T.V. The set was showing a news broadcast talking about how far the city had recovered after ViralMyotismon's attack and the strange rash of vampirism that the media had dubbed the Crimson Plague. Jeri was only half listening to the broadcast though. Her mind was still trying to absorb what she had learned the previous day.

After Jeri and Rika had had their little talk, the rest of the Tamers except for Takato had shown up. And they did not show up alone. Parker was with them of course, but so were Tai and the others who had traveled with from the other Earth. It was during that visit that Jeri learned of Ryo's true origins and just what he and Rika were doing while they were gone. Jeri also learned about some of what had happened while she was possessed, though a few details were understandably left out.

Like most of those Myotismon infected, Henry, Suzie, Mako, and Ai could not remember what happened just before or while they were infected. It was the same case with their Digimon. Though Jeri did notice that Suzie was giving her some odd looks every now and then during the visit. Especially when she commented on her new pink hairstyle, which Jeri thought was cute. The biggest news to Jeri though was that Calumon had apparently become her new Digimon partner, made evident by the strange new D-Arc that wound up with her after the battle.

Jeri's was stirred from her thoughts by a knock at the door. She got up thinking it was her father and stepmother again; who had visited her after her fellow Tamers and the Digidestined had left. Jeri had assumed that they had come back again to check on her, but the two who turned out to be on the other side of the door were Takato and Guilmon. Takato was wearing a tan jacket, blue polo shirt, and grey jeans.

"Hey." Takato greeted with a somewhat nervous smile.

"Hi there." Jeri greeted back.

"Mind if we come in?" Takato asked.

"Oh, of course." Jeri said as she stepped aside to allow them entry. Guilmon and Calumon quickly went to another room to give their partners space.

"Sorry I didn't drop by yesterday. I had some stuff to do for my parents that I couldn't get out of." Takato explained. "So how are you?"

"Better." Jeri replied. "…Takato, I'm sorry I thought there was something going on between you and Rika."

"Oh, that. Hey don't worry about it." Takato told her. "It was all a misunderstanding."

"But I should've trusted you more." Jeri went on. "Aren't you mad at me at all?"

"Well, I guess I was a little in the beginning." Takato admitted. "But then this stuff with Myotismon came up and I realized how much I didn't want to lose you. Plus I guess I gave myself a little time to cool off. Look Jeri, you don't have to compare yourself to Rika or anyone else. I love you for who you are."

"Takato…" Jeri said with a tearful smile, and with that they kissed.

"…You know there's another reason why I dropped by." Takato said after they broke apart.

"Oh? What's that?" Jeri inquired.

"Tai and his friends are about to leave for their own world." Takato explained. "They're on the roof of this building right now getting ready to go. The rest of the gang's already up there to see them off and we thought you might like to join us."

"Sure." Jeri agreed.

After rounding up Guilmon and Calumon they headed up to the roof. Jeri was still wearing her light-green bathrobe and pink slippers. Veemon and Wormmon had already formed into Imperialdramon and the Digidestined were waiting next to him.

"Ah, I see you're well enough to say goodbye." Arthur said to Jeri as she and Takato approached them. "A pity we did not have more time to get to know each other more, Ms. Jeri."

"Same here." Jeri agreed.

"Are you sure you guys can't stay longer?" Takato asked.

"We would, but our friends back home are probably worried about us by now." Tai replied. "I'm sure Matt and Ken are going to catch hell when we get back."

"It was nice meeting you guys." Henry spoke. "To bad there's not an easier way for you guys to come back."

"Indeed." Arthur agreed. "Well, perhaps we did not receive the best welcome when we arrived here. But we did enjoy are stay."

"Can we just get going already?" Gwen said rather impatiently.

"Yes, fine." Arthur said with a hint of irritation in his voice. "Farewell to you all. Perhaps we will find a way to meet again one day."

"Thanks again for your help." Takato said to the group as they boarded the dragon.

In moments the dragon lifted up into the air as the Digidestined waved. Slowly Imperialdramon began to move away from the building. And as he moved away a small-unnoticed grey object bounced onto the dragon's left rear claw. Then in seconds Imperialdramon zoomed away at top speed.

* * *

On a beach at night, Yolei Inoue and Sora Takenouchi waited with their Digimon, Hawkmon and Biyomon. They had been coming to that beach every night since Tai and the others had left. Yolei checked her watch for what was the twelfth time that night.

"Where the hell are they?" Yolei asked loudly as she tapped her foot.

"Relax Yolei. I'm sure they'll be back soon." Sora calmly assured her.

"But they've been gone for almost two weeks now!" Yolei pointed out. "What if something's happened to them?"

"It probably just took them awhile to get to Rika and Ryo's world." Sora theorized.

As if on cue, a strange vortex opened up over the ocean and Imperialdramon flew out. As the dragon landed on the beach while the vortex closed behind them, the same small grey object from before bounced off of Imperialdramon's claw and hopped away. Upon landing, the dragon split back into Veemon and Wormmon as Sora and Yolei ran towards them.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sora demanded to know, her previous calm vanishing like smoke.

"Do you have any idea how worried we've been?" Yolei added.

"Hey honey." Ken greeted. "Sorry we were gone so long."

"You look terrible!" Yolei said to him. "I knew I should done like Gwen did and gone with."

"What took you so long to get back?" Sora asked Matt.

"It took us a little longer to get to Rika and Ryo's world than we thought." Matt explained. "And when we got there Ken needed to rest for a little while."

"Then there was this thing with Myotismon." Davis added.

"MYOTISMON?" Sora and Yolei exclaimed together.

"You better tell us everything that happened!" Yolei told them.

"Good going Davis." Tai said sarcastically.

"Well this has certainly been a touching reunion," Arthur interrupted, "but Gwen and I should be going now. Tai, Matt, please send Kari and T.K. my warmest regards the next time you see them."

"Sure thing Arthur. See ya around." Tai replied. And with that, Arthur and Gwen walked off with Dorumon and PawnChessmon.

* * *

Meanwhile towards the other end of the beach, the small grey thing that had stowed away on Imperialdramon was hoping towards the city. It was a round creature with long floppy ears at the top that also served as arms. Its eyes were red and crescent-shaped.

"Reduced to a Pagumon!" the thing spat in a high-pitched voice. "Of all the indignities! Well, I suppose it does not matter. One way or another I will regain my former glory and take revenge on both the Tamers and the Digidestined. And then I will become the ruler of both worlds!"

THE END?

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, there you have. This story probably isn't my best work, but I enjoyed doing it. As many of you have probably guessed though, I'm not done with Digimon yet. Obviously there's still the Team Excalibur story. But I also have a series of sequels lined up too, the first of which I've already started piecing together. And you can probably guess who the villain is going to be. In closing, thank you for reading and keep you eyes peeled for the next stories.

Please review and let me know what you think.


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